Fellow Viewfinity S9 waiters, worried about matte finish?

[CWallace]

I just don't understand what the point is of these things, same thing happened with the 6k Dell that was supposed to be a XDR replacement. Worse picture quality, worse specs, very little savings, and years late. Well in this case just one year late but still. And the Studio display is now available on sale sometimes too from retailers.

The Viewfinity S9 and U3224KB are general-purpose PC monitors and they are therefore designed around "most common denominator" feature sets whereas Apple creates bespoke displays designed to work first and foremost with Macs and macOS and their compatibility with other operating systems and hardware is, at best, an afterthought.

I prefer the glossy screen of the Apple Studio Display and since I would use a VESA mount, the better stand the Viewfinity S9 offers would stay in the box. So for an identical base price, I would go with the ASD. The one drawback is that I also need to use it with a Windows PC and from the threads I have read, that is a bit of a PITA with a PC with a Thunderbolt 3/4 connector and even more so with a PC that doesn't have a TB connector.

The Viewfinity S9 on the other hand "just works" with a PC and a Mac as it has both a Thunderbolt connector for the Mac and a (mini) DisplayPort connector and USB-C for the PC.

 

[i486dx2-66]

I just don't understand what the point is of these things, same thing happened with the 6k Dell that was supposed to be a XDR replacement. Worse picture quality, worse specs, very little savings, and years late.

The Dell U3224KB is $2,400 in matte.
The Apple Pro Display XDR is $4,999 in gloss or $5,999 with the matte option.

In what world is that "very little savings"?

 

[okkibs]

The Dell U3224KB is $2,400 in matte.
The Apple Pro Display XDR is $4,999 in gloss or $5,999 with the matte option.

In what world is that "very little savings"?

When the Dell released I checked prices and it was $3199, whereas the XDR display can be bought for $4599 on the education Apple store without waiting for a sale if you have an eligible family member. And I've seen it with that discount either at Best Buy or Microcenter, I think it must have been Microcenter since they have among the lowest Apple pricing. Got a Studio Display for $1299 there as well.

For me the takeaway was that saving a grand to give up on the fantastic HDR functionality only to get a problematic monitor is very little savings. On paper it looks better but if you head over to the owner's thread for the Dell you'll find people weren't too happy, had to exchange their unit multiple times and so on. If it's really discounted to $2400 already in such short time, then there's a good reason for it.

I don't even understand how you can have the need for a 6k panel but then be okay with that cheap crap. Surely if your workflow is so demanding that 4k or even 5k won't do you'd require a high quality panel as well? Without the uniformity issues, vignetting...

I guess it's still a solid-enough option for people who want a high-DPI 32" screen, that's fair. To me it just seems like a cheap product that's not great at anything. If it had at least 120Hz, or maybe 2-3 DP inputs that can each drive the full resolution so it has a benefit over the single-input Apple displays, perhaps that would make it a bit better. I am not sure if the Thunderbolt USB-C port can even make use of the full quality (10-bit panel, DSC?).

 

[Shoju]

About time…

 

[AppleTech22]

About time…

So glad I pulled the trigger on an Open Box ASD from Best Buy for $1299 back in April.

At the time, I was worried Samsung would come in at $999 or even lower and I’d regret it, but have enjoyed using the ASD for months now. The height adjustment would be nice, but I’ll take the Apple brand any day of the week.

 

[Dutch60]

why?

 

[tornado99]

I switch between a 24 inch 4K glossy at home and a 24 inch 4K matte at work. I would say the glossy is a little better, but not much to be honest.

I don't get any eyestrain with either, whereas I do as soon as I switch to a 1080p monitor. I think people are worrying too much.