I do not understand the hate for the studio display

[mr_bam]

Loving my 2026 Studio XDR (I buy a screen every 8-10 years), got my old LG 5K sitting next to it as a 2nd screen. Picture quality on dark images is literally unreal. The old 5K is still fine to look at but once you've seen HDR content on XDR it will never be as good.

My previous monitor was Apple's 30 inch Cinema HD (which is still going strong, I gave it to my brother).

Yes, it's expensive but it'll last a long time and being back on the Apple - it just works and looks amazing is just worth a bit extra. I did really want a 6K this time but the HDR and 120FPS on the XDR 5K is really cool.

I do wish I could boot macOS or AppleTV from the display as it does have an A19 Pro in there with 128GB storage and 12GB of RAM. FFS Apple... make it happen. It's such a waste not to have something on the display when it isn't plugged into a MBP.

 

[PegLegDreg]

Its awesome, the size difference between the 34" and 32" wasn't big enough that it was terribly noticable, and given that I moved up from 1440p to 4k, gave me more screen real estate.

I use this monitor on Windows, Linux and MacOS, the scaling that Windows and Linux are superior to macos, so I have a better user experience on those platforms. Its still nice on macos, I just have less screen real estate as I need to run it at an odd resolution that is HiDPI

That kind of thing sounds awesome to use on windows! Not speaking from a gaming perspective. It sounds like the dream kind of setup that was shown in old 90s films about geeks who compute haha.

 

[mistymac]

Apple NEVER reduce the price of anything (to a substantial degree. 100 of the air here and there maybe). Yeah it's expensive I agree, I had to think about 1000 times before I committed. But it is truly amazing with the iPad. It does turn into that old 'this is a computer' vision. To the degree that I am thinking of selling my MacBook! Again, I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination. Just the whole experience is enjoyable.

Oh don't get me wrong, my silly self will probably end up with one eventually. I forgot about how it plays nice with the iPad, not a use case for me but it is nice. (yet another cool thing that justifies the chip in it I suppose) It does have nice features and I'm sure its a nice experience like most Apple products. However, with the news that Golden Gate is better supporting ultrawide monitor resolutions for HIDPI, its making me hold out and wait a while longer because I do love me an ultrawide and one with full macOS support like that would be amazing.

 

[PegLegDreg]

Oh don't get me wrong, my silly self will probably end up with one eventually. I forgot about how it plays nice with the iPad, not a use case for me but it is nice. (yet another cool thing that justifies the chip in it I suppose) It does have nice features and I'm sure its a nice experience like most Apple products. However, with the news that Golden Gate is better supporting ultrawide monitor resolutions for HIDPI, its making me hold out and wait a while longer because I do love me an ultrawide and one with full macOS support like that would be amazing.

Yeah, never thought of ultra wide..... Seeing is believing when it comes to Apple and support for things. They took out the smoothing for below retina didn't they? Inexplicable!

 

[dblissmn]

Yeah, never thought of ultra wide..... Seeing is believing when it comes to Apple and support for things. They took out the smoothing for below retina didn't they? Inexplicable!

They messed around with it for a while a few OS's back -- might have been Mojave -- but it's mostly fixed again. My PA271W 1440p monitor went through a phase of a few months of being almost unusable but thankfully that ended. What they settled on is not quite as good for 110ppi-class as they had before, but probably better for 220ppi class, and I kind of think for 170ppi -- so basically a 27" 4K display on Mac -- it's kind of a wash.

 

[PegLegDreg]

They messed around with it for a while a few OS's back -- might have been Mojave -- but it's mostly fixed again. My PA271W 1440p monitor went through a phase of a few months of being almost unusable but thankfully that ended. What they settled on is not quite as good for 110ppi-class as they had before, but probably better for 220ppi class, and I kind of think for 170ppi -- so basically a 27" 4K display on Mac -- it's kind of a wash.

Yeah 27 4k always looked absolutely fine to me. The difference is subtle between that and 5k.

 

[PegLegDreg]

Loving my 2026 Studio XDR (I buy a screen every 8-10 years), got my old LG 5K sitting next to it as a 2nd screen. Picture quality on dark images is literally unreal. The old 5K is still fine to look at but once you've seen HDR content on XDR it will never be as good.

My previous monitor was Apple's 30 inch Cinema HD (which is still going strong, I gave it to my brother).

Yes, it's expensive but it'll last a long time and being back on the Apple - it just works and looks amazing is just worth a bit extra. I did really want a 6K this time but the HDR and 120FPS on the XDR 5K is really cool.

I do wish I could boot macOS or AppleTV from the display as it does have an A19 Pro in there with 128GB storage and 12GB of RAM. FFS Apple... make it happen. It's such a waste not to have something on the display when it isn't plugged into a MBP.

It is marketed as a screen and have no problem with that. The fact is has the a19 in there is by the by and due to apple making cpus an entire system.

It can be plugged and played with the eco system, it couldn’t do that if it was a mac.

 

[con2apple]

I recently purchased a Studio Display 2026. It works flawlessly with both my MacBook and iPad with zero configuration and looks and sounds great. It looks cool. I thought that was the whole reason people liked Apple (it just works).

Why are people so shocked by the price of this thing? Why is it that when it comes to monitors people suddenly start saying that the Apple experience does not matter and that it is far superior to use a Samsung monitor with a thumb nub on the back that you have to use to change any settings? Bit simplistic but I’m genuinely baffled by the response to this monitor’s release considering the audience it is targeted at.

I just don't feel like coming up with arguments against the product when every criticism is labeled as hate.

On the other hand, it seems like you're making up some of these statements yourself just to avoid having to address the factual criticism at all.

 

[anthony13]

I think it’s a perfect display for me and my workflow. I don’t need 120hz to draft and render, that would just take up more processing power. The hate stems from the Apple price but at some point you gotta just accept the prices if you decided to be an Apple fan (unless it’s the AirPods Max which is bats crazy👾).

 

[PegLegDreg]

I think it’s a perfect display for me and my workflow. I don’t need 120hz to draft and render, that would just take up more processing power. The hate stems from the Apple price but at some point you gotta just accept the prices if you decided to be an Apple fan (unless it’s the AirPods Max which is bats crazy👾).

The AirPods Max ISNT crazy by the amount you see them.

 

[Charlie Bonesx]

I recently purchased a Studio Display 2026. It works flawlessly with both my MacBook and iPad with zero configuration and looks and sounds great. It looks cool. I thought that was the whole reason people liked Apple (it just works).

Why are people so shocked by the price of this thing? Why is it that when it comes to monitors people suddenly start saying that the Apple experience does not matter and that it is far superior to use a Samsung monitor with a thumb nub on the back that you have to use to change any settings? Bit simplistic but I’m genuinely baffled by the response to this monitor’s release considering the audience it is targeted at.

it's simply incredibly overpriced for what it is. it's that simple of an answer. as more and more 27" 5k options are released that will become even more clear. lg is selling a miniLED one (so more like the Studio Display XDR) for less than the studio display. does the Studio Display have some advantages over said monitor? sure. are those things worth nearly double the price? (or more than 3x the price for the XDR)? for most people probably not

 

[leifp]

From my perspective the “hate” is directed to Apple taking display tech from the 2014 iMac and releasing it as an expensive standalone monitor in 2022 (I have two, one shiny and one matte and quite like them) that was then “upgraded” (the most important element, the screen, was not) and is still sold for the same price. The XDR version that was released alongside it, I’m sorry to say, does not offer me an upgrade (I’m very sensitive to blooming and I’m not interested in 27” monitors anymore but those are me things).

Some people are laser-focused on Bang for Buck™ and some are not. Those focused people will never appreciate Apple displays because “you can always get equivalent for cheaper” (you kinda can’t) and thus will hate. And for themselves, they’re correct!

If you use it and love it, great! If you cannot imagine paying that much money for such a thing, great! You have so many options already. Enjoy choice!

 

[triumvirate]

It’s the greed behind it. Apple used to just sell a nice 27” iMac with a beautiful screen. They proceeded to gimp it to a compromised 24” screen and made it “colorful”.

My 27” iMac was the best Mac I ever had but now Apple wants me to buy that overpriced Studio Display and a separate machine, keyboard, mouse, etc, to get that 27” screen experience.

I wanted the all in one. No thanks.

 

[boswald]

I think they're gorgeous and I'm dying to get one, but I have to agree with others when they said it's overpriced. It's way too expensive for what you get, but the quality is top-notch (to me).

 

[Spock]

It’s the greed behind it. Apple used to just sell a nice 27” iMac with a beautiful screen. They proceeded to gimp it to a compromised 24” screen and made it “colorful”.

My 27” iMac was the best Mac I ever had but now Apple wants me to buy that overpriced Studio Display and a separate machine, keyboard, mouse, etc, to get that 27” screen experience.

I wanted the all in one. No thanks.

The iMac became something that it was not intended to become and Apple put it back. Look at all the 5k iMacs that are now useless because they are chained to an outdated, unsupported computer. You can get a controller board and modify it but not many are doing that. Now you buy the computer and the display separately and you can upgrade each as needed and the display becomes more like an investment.

 

[PegLegDreg]

it's simply incredibly overpriced for what it is. it's that simple of an answer. as more and more 27" 5k options are released that will become even more clear. lg is selling a miniLED one (so more like the Studio Display XDR) for less than the studio display. does the Studio Display have some advantages over said monitor? sure. are those things worth nearly double the price? (or more than 3x the price for the XDR)? for most people probably not

Depends what you value! The LG will not match the screen on your iPad immediately.

 

[PegLegDreg]

From my perspective the “hate” is directed to Apple taking display tech from the 2014 iMac and releasing it as an expensive standalone monitor in 2022 (I have two, one shiny and one matte and quite like them) that was then “upgraded” (the most important element, the screen, was not) and is still sold for the same price. The XDR version that was released alongside it, I’m sorry to say, does not offer me an upgrade (I’m very sensitive to blooming and I’m not interested in 27” monitors anymore but those are me things).

Some people are laser-focused on Bang for Buck™ and some are not. Those focused people will never appreciate Apple displays because “you can always get equivalent for cheaper” (you kinda can’t) and thus will hate. And for themselves, they’re correct!

If you use it and love it, great! If you cannot imagine paying that much money for such a thing, great! You have so many options already. Enjoy choice!

It's less about the screen tech (which is absolutely fine for what the majority of people do with a screen and looks premium. It certainly did to me) and more about everything around the screen. The focus on pure visual output ignores 90% of what the monitor offers.

 

[PegLegDreg]

I think they're gorgeous and I'm dying to get one, but I have to agree with others when they said it's overpriced. It's way too expensive for what you get, but the quality is top-notch (to me).

Overpriced yeah I'll agree. But the experience from using it is just like all the other Apple products (overpriced). Seamless and easy.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

The Internet is full of bots and trolls. My advice is to ignore those spewing hate. You do you. I could not care less what others think.

This needs to be posted in every MR thread at this point.

 

[ignatius345]

There are not many displays with the same resolution. A quick search gave me these (I included the new XDR at the top as a comparison, then the Studio Display, then the other alphabetically):

Apple Studio Display XDR
– Regular monitor
– Mini-LED panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 120 Hz (variable)
– 100% DCI-P3
– 1.000 nits, 2.000 nits peak HDR brightnesses
– 5 ms

Apple Studio Display (2026)
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 500 nits, 600 nits peak HDR brightnesses
– 14 to 16 ms

Acer Nitro XV270X P (announced in January 2026)
– Gaming monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 165 Hz / 2560 × 1440 at 330 Hz
– 95% DCI-P3
– 350 nits, 400 nits peak HDR brightnesses
– 0.5 ms

ASUS ProArt Display PA27JCV
– Content creator monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 400 nits, 500 nits peak HDR brightnesses
– 5.0 ms

ASUS ROG Strix XG27JCG
– Gaming monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 180 Hz / 2560 × 1440 at 330 Hz
– 97% DCI-P3
– 350 nits, 600 nits peak HDR brightnesses
– 0.3 ms

BenQ PD2730S
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– 98% DCI-P3
– 400 nits
– 5.0 ms

KTC H27P3
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz, 2560 × 1440 at 120 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 500 nits
– 7 to 14 ms

Kuycon G27P
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 75 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 600 nits
– 8 ms (when using Overdrive 4 to 6 ms)

LG UltraFine 5K 27MD5KA-B
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 500 nits
– 12 ms

LG UltraFine 5K 27MD5KL-B
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– 99% DCI-P3
– 500 nits
– 12 ms

Philips Evnia 27M2G5800 (announced in July 2026)
– Content creator monitor, gaming monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 180 Hz (8-bit colors) or 144 Hz (10-bit colors), 2560 × 1440 at 330 Hz
– 98% DCI-P3
– 500 nits
– 0.5 ms

Samsung ViewFinity S8 (S80HF)
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– no DCI-P3 specs
– 350 nits
– 5 ms

Samsung ViewFinity S9 (S90PC)
– Regular monitor
– IPS panel
– 5120 × 2880 at 60 Hz
– no DCI-P3 specs
– 600 nits
– 5 ms

I would say, that the Apple Studio Display is not really worth its money for the display specs, especially in 2026. It is a very good display – I just bought some for my company for my employees and installed them myself –, but the reason to buy one is the looks, the sturdiness, the integration with macOS, etc. If it would be only for the display experience itself, I'd go with a cheaper one.

Side note: The XDR is extraordinary. It's like day and night – no other monitor comes close. I now own one privately and use one at work.

Big important part missing here is which of these has a speaker, camera or mics, and what quality those are. If you buy a bare-bones display without the stuff you need to do a zoom call or have audio at all, then you have to add to your purchase price. You also have to add a bunch of clutter and cables to your desk, which not everyone wants to do.

 

[triumvirate]

The iMac became something that it was not intended to become and Apple put it back. Look at all the 5k iMacs that are now useless because they are chained to an outdated, unsupported computer. You can get a controller board and modify it but not many are doing that. Now you buy the computer and the display separately and you can upgrade each as needed and the display becomes more like an investment.

That can basically be said for any “all-in-one” or MacBook / iPad today though. It’s just corp speak for “we saw opportunity for profit” imo.

The iMac became less profitable than Apple wanted, and now the current gimped iMac is about the same price a good iMac used to be.

 

[PegLegDreg]

For browsing the web, checking email, watching YouTube, and streaming movies, the standard Studio Display does the job just fine. It also makes your office or desk look incredibly professional and stylish. Honestly, it might be the best investment in the world if you want everyone to know how professional you are and how great your taste is.
No, I don’t hate it at all. I’d absolutely call it a smart buy.

Can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not.

 

[PegLegDreg]

That can basically be said for any “all-in-one” or MacBook / iPad today though. It’s just corp speak for “we saw opportunity for profit” imo.

The iMac became less profitable than Apple wanted, and now the current gimped iMac is about the same price a good iMac used to be.

They made a monitor that mirrors what those devices do at the same quality. That's the experience I've had. If you have a portable device you 'shouldnt' be buying a monitor to begin with.... Not the real world.

 

[PegLegDreg]

That can basically be said for any “all-in-one” or MacBook / iPad today though. It’s just corp speak for “we saw opportunity for profit” imo.

The iMac became less profitable than Apple wanted, and now the current gimped iMac is about the same price a good iMac used to be.

The iMac isn't gimped by any stretch of the imagination. For what it is intended for its a really good computer

 

[PegLegDreg]

I just don't feel like coming up with arguments against the product when every criticism is labeled as hate.

On the other hand, it seems like you're making up some of these statements yourself just to avoid having to address the factual criticism at all.

What have I made up?