Apple debuted two upgraded models of its relatively old Studio Display and really old Pro Display XDR on Tuesday. The new $3,299 27-inch Studio Display XDR is a 27-inch 5K model that brings a long-awaited 120Hz refresh rate to Apple’s monitor lineup along with a brightness boost. Meanwhile the updated $1,599 27-inch Studio Display has an improved webcam and Thunderbolt 5 support — but no HDR or high refresh rate for the mainstream, which is disappointing.
As of today, Apple has dropped the original 32-inch Pro Display XDR from its lineup. That decision makes sense — it’s six years old — but it leaves the company without the larger size. That model’s high price tag, more than $5,000 at launch, plus an extra $1,000 for a stand that you could raise and lower as well as tilt, was hard to swallow despite excellent performance.
It’s interesting that Apple dropped “Pro” from the name of the XDR display, though it has improved specs over the older model and still has a huge selection of reference profiles. It can hit 2,000 nits peak brightness compared to 1,600 nits for the Pro (still using a mini-LED backlight), it boosts the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz and it includes the same audio and webcam as the Studio Display (the Pro had neither). Although Apple’s specs say it supports adaptive sync, it doesn’t brand it as ProMotion. It has two Thunderbolt 5 connections and two slow (10Gb/sec) USB-C ports.
And wow: Apple has stopped ignoring the existence of the Adobe RGB color space and includes D50, D65 and HDR variants as profiles, though the company still provides its homegrown P3-based versions for design and photography.
The refreshed Studio Display is now essentially a stripped-down version of the XDR that lacks HDR support and has a slow panel, which I’ve always felt isn’t a good tradeoff for the webcam and audio. You can always add external audio and video, but you can’t add HDR or speed up the panel, and 600-nit HDR is fine. It’s also basically four years old, and this would have been a good time to upgrade it more significantly.
And let’s not forget, a height-adjustable stand is a basic, essential feature for a monitor, and charging extra for it on a $1,599 display remains rant fodder.
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