MP 7,1 The Pro Display XDR buyers thread

[chfilm]

Anyone else with an XDR plus other non-XDR screens having trouble looking at their non-XDR’s? I so desperately want to change all my monitors out for XDR’s! It’s a real problem...

Oh god I’m worrying about this situation. I have one nano on order and it’s gonna live next to a glossy dell for a while and I know it’s gonna kill me..

i don’t know I was really extremely torn between nano and glossy, still an in fact, I need to see the nano in my flat.

About comparing the two versions, both look amazing. I’m a glossy person since forever and had zero problems with glossy so far, but the nano has something spectacular about it. When you see this for the first time it’s like some sort of witchcraft because It’s glossy but nothing reflects on it. When you look from the side it’s mirroring stuff when it’s black but when you have images on the display they look like a high quality magazine print. Like as if you could touch the content and feel it physically between your fingers, while the glossy feels like something is in between you and the content.

then again I found that the nano has an annoying very fine grain pattern which is very obvious when you look at white screens like safari or the finder.

colors and blacks seem to be identical and the nano is worlds apart from regularly matte screens, otherwise I’d have never chosen it.
But maybe, just maybe the glossy pops contrast a LITTLE bit more. Hard to tell actually. In the Store the glossy one looked just straight out CHEAP against the nano for my eye. (Which is ridiculous because I use glossy screens at home and I actually find their look more sexy than matte displays in general).
So you see it’s really a double sided sword, I’m super curious how I’ll like the nano in my actual environment and hope that I’ll love it so that I don’t have to return it and wait another month. Also I did 12 month financing so I’m sure it would be a hassle to return it... I’m afraid to go to the Apple store again to check them out again because I worry I might change my mind.

 

[Adult80HD]

Anyone else with an XDR plus other non-XDR screens having trouble looking at their non-XDR’s? I so desperately want to change all my monitors out for XDR’s! It’s a real problem...

Yeah, my LG 5K Ultrafine is next to mine...and after just a few days of that I ordered a second XDR. My bank account wasn't happy, but I will be when #2 arrives.

 

[chfilm]

Yeah, my LG 5K Ultrafine is next to mine...and after just a few days of that I ordered a second XDR. My bank account wasn't happy, but I will be when #2 arrives.

haha in the other thread you were saying "I dont mind the difference between the glossy and the nano screen as much" You were fooling me, fooooling me I knew it would be like this though.. sigh

 

[rkuo]

Oh god I’m worrying about this situation. I have one nano on order and it’s gonna live next to a glossy dell for a while and I know it’s gonna kill me..

i don’t know I was really extremely torn between nano and glossy, still an in fact, I need to see the nano in my flat.

About comparing the two versions, both look amazing. I’m a glossy person since forever and had zero problems with glossy so far, but the nano has something spectacular about it. When you see this for the first time it’s like some sort of witchcraft because It’s glossy but nothing reflects on it. When you look from the side it’s mirroring stuff when it’s black but when you have images on the display they look like a high quality magazine print. Like as if you could touch the content and feel it physically between your fingers, while the glossy feels like something is in between you and the content.

then again I found that the nano has an annoying very fine grain pattern which is very obvious when you look at white screens like safari or the finder.

colors and blacks seem to be identical and the nano is worlds apart from regularly matte screens, otherwise I’d have never chosen it.
But maybe, just maybe the glossy pops contrast a LITTLE bit more. Hard to tell actually. In the Store the glossy one looked just straight out CHEAP against the nano for my eye. (Which is ridiculous because I use glossy screens at home and I actually find their look more sexy than matte displays in general).
So you see it’s really a double sided sword, I’m super curious how I’ll like the nano in my actual environment and hope that I’ll love it so that I don’t have to return it and wait another month. Also I did 12 month financing so I’m sure it would be a hassle to return it... I’m afraid to go to the Apple store again to check them out again because I worry I might change my mind.

It's not hard to tell the difference at all. My wife saw it at first glance and she's not in the business.

It's just simple physics. If you put a matte diffusing layer in front of the actual display panel, it's going to slightly impact the image quality. It also creates that "closer to you" look because the matte layer is literally closer to you. That's just how it works.

I think you're just in love with the idea of a matte screen.

 

[chfilm]

It's not hard to tell the difference at all. My wife saw it at first glance and she's not in the business.

It's just simple physics. If you put a matte diffusing layer in front of the actual display panel, it's going to slightly impact the image quality. It also creates that "closer to you" look because the matte layer is literally closer to you. That's just how it works.

I think you're just in love with the idea of a matte screen.

I don’t know, every day when I look at my current glossy screens I like them a lot actually. But I do have reflections on them as soon as I have to turn in the light later the day. They never bothered me, but now I’m thinking it might be less distracting without them..

 

[chfilm]

It's not hard to tell the difference at all. My wife saw it at first glance and she's not in the business.

It's just simple physics. If you put a matte diffusing layer in front of the actual display panel, it's going to slightly impact the image quality. It also creates that "closer to you" look because the matte layer is literally closer to you. That's just how it works.

I think you're just in love with the idea of a matte screen.

Not hard to tell the difference but hard to tell what’s BETTER.

 

[Adult80HD]

haha in the other thread you were saying "I dont mind the difference between the glossy and the nano screen as much" You were fooling me, fooooling me I knew it would be like this though.. sigh

It's not so much about glossy vs. not, but that does factor in a little. It's different sizes that bug me, I like screens to be the same size when I use two.

 

[chfilm]

It's not so much about glossy vs. not, but that does factor in a little. It's different sizes that bug me, I like screens to be the same size when I use two.

Agree, I absolutely HATE that, when the cursor jumps from one screen to the other.. oh well.

 

[Xgx]

Hey everyone! I received my XDR Display Friday (I was one of the first few minutes to order, originally had the December 20 - 30 ships by date, then strangely got an email a few days ago that said it was slipping to January 8 -11, but crazily it still arrived on the 27th.

I'm currently driving it from my new MacBook Pro 16" top of the line and it's GORGEOUS...

BUT - I'm experiencing a very strange noise issue when hooking up to external speakers. We do audio production, so we need nice studio monitors. I'm traveling now with it, so I don' have my home studio.

At first, I tried to hook up two external KRK Pro Studio Monitor Speakers just using the headphone jack of the MBPZ, and the audio distortion was horrible, it's like you can actually hear the computer thinking through the speakers - all kinds of interference (it even sounds like you hear disk writes and reads (which is silly because its an SSD, but you get the idea).

Just to say - I am also experiencing this. Looks like I'm going to have to return it. Apple offered a replacement but since you have experienced the same thing I'm inclined to think it's a result of the specific tech within the XDR. As you say, it's as if you can hear the computer 'thinking' so I suspect it's related to the CPU/GPU/SSD or another component. The distortion/interference is most apparent when the computer is under load and it affects both external speakers and wired headphones.

 

[vodouman]

Just to say - I am also experiencing this. Looks like I'm going to have to return it. Apple offered a replacement but since you have experienced the same thing I'm inclined to think it's a result of the specific tech within the XDR. As you say, it's as if you can hear the computer 'thinking' so I suspect it's related to the CPU/GPU/SSD or another component. The distortion/interference is most apparent when the computer is under load and it affects both external speakers and wired headphones.

Worth mentioning that I also had issue with noises when paired with USB audio hooked up to the ports on the back of the XDR Display.

The XDR was an incredible screen. But it had so many small, annoying drawbacks for a thing that cost so many thousands of pounds.

I returned mine.

- Vodouman

 

[Xgx]

Worth mentioning that I also had issue with noises when paired with USB audio hooked up to the ports on the back of the XDR Display.

The XDR was an incredible screen. But it had so many small, annoying drawbacks for a thing that cost so many thousands of pounds.

I returned mine.

- Vodouman

That pretty much sums up my feelings exactly... I hope eventually this type of tech can be refined to a point where there are less annoyances. If it had been less expensive I wouldn't have thought twice about keeping it.

 

[Adult80HD]

Just to say - I am also experiencing this. Looks like I'm going to have to return it. Apple offered a replacement but since you have experienced the same thing I'm inclined to think it's a result of the specific tech within the XDR. As you say, it's as if you can hear the computer 'thinking' so I suspect it's related to the CPU/GPU/SSD or another component. The distortion/interference is most apparent when the computer is under load and it affects both external speakers and wired headphones.

I thought that there were some known issues with the 16" MBP and sound/external speakers? Are you sure it's the XDR and not that?

 

[ChromeCrescendo]

An update on mine, I had the Display XDR delivered on 31st December but the stand was no-where to be seen. Somewhere between Germany, UK East Midlands and Bristol.

Apple haven't been the most helpful, they have been polite and sorta tried, but mostly useless.
After lots of calls and emails, the "best" they worked out was me waiting another 3-4 working days to see if UPS magically found it, and if not they'd reorder it for me and it'd be end of Feb before it gets to me.
If they "expedited the order" then possibly (but no guarantee) could be here end of Jan.

When I explained that without the stand the monitor is useless and without the monitor I can't really prove whether the Mac Pro + XDR will actually be suited for work within the return window the guy confirmed that Apple would both not extend the return window or be able to do anything.

So I decided to take things into my own hands, the suggestion above that a shop might have one, I found the London Regent Street store has (had?) one, ordered it for pickup today and jumped on the 2 hour train there and back.

I now have the XDR (and its pretty awesome, though the native resolution is slightly less than the iMac Pro that I've been using even though its bigger) working with the stand.

I spoke to Apple and they will try to refund the missing stand and hopefully that's the end of it.

I will probably ask them to pay for the train tickets as well, but given their lack of help on the rest of the thing, that's probably not gonna happen easily.

Glad to read you finally got your stand
Sad to read you received virtually no assistance from Apple - they could have at least searched local Apple Store inventory and told you they would hold one there for you if one was in stock

So the XDR 6K resolution is not as good as the iMac Pro's 5K resolution? How is that possible? (I am not doubting your observation - I am just perplexed by it)

 

[Xgx]

I thought that there were some known issues with the 16" MBP and sound/external speakers? Are you sure it's the XDR and not that?

There is no doubt in my mind. I have had just about 4 months of completely flawless audio performance from the 16” working 8+ hours a day. The issues began the moment the XDR was connected and they stop as soon as it is disconnected.

 

[Adult80HD]

There is no doubt in my mind. I have had just about 4 months of completely flawless audio performance from the 16” working 8+ hours a day. The issues began the moment the XDR was connected and they stop as soon as it is disconnected.

I'm assuming that you tried the XDR in all of the different ports to split up which TB3 bus it was on? It feels like Apple has fumbled this release so far. The original marketing was hyperbolic and has opened the door to criticisms on many facets of the product, then there's issues like this that are popping up. Meanwhile, its supposed to be a calibratable display in a "future release of MacOS;" since that June 2019 announcement we've had the Catalina release and three updates to that release, still no dice. One would assume there was time to sort out these other issues as well.

 

[Xgx]

I'm assuming that you tried the XDR in all of the different ports to split up which TB3 bus it was on? It feels like Apple has fumbled this release so far. The original marketing was hyperbolic and has opened the door to criticisms on many facets of the product, then there's issues like this that are popping up. Meanwhile, its supposed to be a calibratable display in a "future release of MacOS;" since that June 2019 announcement we've had the Catalina release and three updates to that release, still no dice. One would assume there was time to sort out these other issues as well.

Yes, tried on both busses, same result.

In my opinion the marketing was indeed overzealous, although I will certainly miss the brightness and clarity of the stunning 6k panel.

 

[chfilm]

Got mine today, and wow, what a display! At home its even so much nicer than in the store. Happy with my glossy one but i definitely need two!

on this pic the color differences to the dell are way exaggerated by the iphone camera, but still, did anybody else feel that the XDR is very cold, with tints of green? I feel like even turning on the truetone cardinal sin because it’s just so cold looking..

 

[OkiRun]

Got mine today, and wow, what a display! At home its even so much nicer than in the store. Happy with my glossy one but i definitely need two! View attachment 897850

on this pic the color differences to the dell are way exaggerated by the iphone camera, but still, did anybody else feel that the XDR is very cold, with tints of green? I feel like even turning on the truetone cardinal sin because it’s just so cold looking..

Yes. Colder and more muted than the display on the late 2015 iMac retina it replaced but it’s supposed to be a different type of reference monitor. I expected a difference.

 

[nicho]

Got mine today, and wow, what a display! At home its even so much nicer than in the store. Happy with my glossy one but i definitely need two! View attachment 897850

on this pic the color differences to the dell are way exaggerated by the iphone camera, but still, did anybody else feel that the XDR is very cold, with tints of green? I feel like even turning on the truetone cardinal sin because it’s just so cold looking..

It makes me wonder how you were able to do your job on your previous monitor! The sea generally is blue, rather than purple.

 

[chfilm]

It makes me wonder how you were able to do your job on your previous monitor! The sea generally is blue, rather than purple.

It doesnt look like this to the eye, they actually look pretty similiar, I guess it's some infrared spectrum that's being emphasized by the iphone's camera here.

 

[Adult80HD]

It doesnt look like this to the eye, they actually look pretty similiar, I guess it's some infrared spectrum that's being emphasized by the iphone's camera here.

My LG SuperFine has a similar reddish cast unless I calibrate it. Glad you're happy with the XDR, it's a fabulous display, isn't it?

 

[chfilm]

My LG SuperFine has a similar reddish cast unless I calibrate it. Glad you're happy with the XDR, it's a fabulous display, isn't it?

It’s absolutely gorgeous, I love it! Want a second one desperately...but somehow this year started crazy slowly job wise after this intense investment:/

 

[Dae]

We bought two Pro Display XDR monitors and one is missing built-in presets. We tried different computers (all with Catalina 10.15.4), but the list shown in the screenshot remains empty. Does anyone have a clue?

 

[ChromeCrescendo]

Does anyone use the XDR with a MBP 16"
Are there heat issues using the MBP 16" with the XDR?

 

[Adult80HD]

We bought two Pro Display XDR monitors and one is missing built-in presets. We tried different computers (all with Catalina 10.15.4), but the list shown in the screenshot remains empty. Does anyone have a clue?

View attachment 902348

Try going to the System Report and seeing what firmware it says your displays is on. About This Mac -> System Report -> Graphics/Displays. It sounds like a bad firmware load?
[automerge]1585593342[/automerge]

Does anyone use the XDR with a MBP 16"
Are there heat issues using the MBP 16" with the XDR?

Depending on what you are doing, it can tax the GPU and heat up the laptop a bit, you'll hear the fans rev.