At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, display manufacturers not named Apple have announced true 5K and 6K monitors for creative work and productivity. These new monitors, which will appeal to Mac users for reasons other than "it's white and doesn't have rgb lights," are providing some actual competition to Apple's Studio Display and even an alternative to the staggeringly expensive Pro Display XDR.
It is difficult to overstate the rarity of this. Over the years, there have been many monitors marketed toward MacBook owners, with features such as high-wattage charging, and nicer than average designs, but they have typically all had traditional 4K panels and sub-par resolution. If you hooked a MacBook up to one of those other monitors, you had to compromise.
Many people wonder why it is not possible to use a large 4K monitor with a Mac. You can, and many people do, but if you're a designer or artist or just someone who's particular about how text and images are rendered on a screen, you want a higher-resolution screen Due to the way display scaling works in macOS, display resolution and brightness are more important than fast refresh rates and response times, which are typically featured in monitors for PC gaming.
The way display scaling works in macOS is more demanding than a 4K monitor.
I encourage you to read his post because he has gone into great detail on how display scaling works when using a lower-resolution screen with a Mac. You want a screen with at least 220 ppi for the best fidelity.
For the past decade or so, the history of Apple display options has been fraught. The monitors of the time couldn't match the quality of the displays on a laptop when Apple came out with its "retina" MacBook Pro in 2012 and followed up with the 5K iMac two years later. The average monitor that worked well for the past decade suddenly became fuzzy and small compared to the MacBook.
After getting out of the monitor game a few years earlier, Apple enlisted LG to produce a line of monitors that were similar to its MacBook Pros: a 22-inch 4K display, a 24 inch 4K model, and a 27 inch 5K model. The UltraFine monitors integrated well with Apple's laptops at the time, including a singleUSB-C cable connection, brightness and volume controls from the MacBook's keyboard, and integrated camera, microphones, and speakers. The display panels looked great with great images and great color reproduction. Poor build quality, poor reliability, and high prices were some of the issues they faced.
Until Apple came back to the monitor market with the 32-inch 6K Pro Display XDR, there was only one other option for a large high-resolution display. New local dimming display technology allowed the new monitor to hit up to 1,600 nits of brightness, which was more than the laptops and iMacs could achieve. It started at $5,000 and didn't have a stand, so you'd have to shell out another $1,000.
Apple finally responded to the calls for a more accessible monitor with the Studio Display, a 27 inch 5K monitor that took the same display technology and panel as the LG 5K UltraFine and 27 inch iMac, wrapped it in a sleeker aluminum The Pro Display XDR is more expensive than the $1,600 studio display, but it feels a bit small in this world of many larger options. It is the only realistic option if you want a perfect resolution. Since its launch, the 5K UltraFine hasn't meaningfully changed, but it still costs over $1,000.
This week saw the announcement of new monitors that were meant to appeal to Macintosh users. The new screens have the high-res densities that work best with macOS and match the sharpness of Apple's displays. The whole package of integratedWebcam, microphone, and speakers that Apple sells with the studio display, provides a whole desk setup through one cable.
The ViewFinity S9 is a 27 inch 5K monitor that goes toe to toe with Apple's studio display. It has the same 5120 x 2880 resolution, matches the brightness and color space fidelity, and is compatible with Thunderbolt 4. It comes with integrated microphones and speakers, as well as a better performingWebcam. The design of the S9 is very similar to that of the studio display. It is possible to fit this in a stylish design studio or include it in a desk porn setup on social media without being ridiculed.
It's much more practical to use with two computers or a game console if you have more than one device. It comes with a remote and can be used to watch streaming services in the middle of the day, if you want to.
The first monitor I am aware of that matches the Pro Display XDR is the Dell UltraSharp 32. It doesn't have the same local dimming display technology as the XDR, but it comes with integrated speakers, microphones, and a 4KWebcam, all of which are missing from Apple's high-end option. The UltraSharp 32 is described as a bigger version of the studio display as it provides all of the necessary desk peripherals but with a larger panel. The Dell has the same 600 nits of brightness as the S9 and the same number of ports as the Studio Display. The dock is built into the back of the display.
One of the major differences between Dell and Apple is in the design of their displays. The UltraSharp 32 doesn't have the sleek, minimalist designs of the others, and it has a comically large "forehead" bezel at the top to house its oversized webcams. I think a lot of people will forgive the studio display if it performs better than the cam.
Pricing information for new displays is usually not provided by the manufacturers. It is highly probable that they will lower Apple's prices. You could buy a 32-inch 6K display for less than two thousand dollars, even if it came in over two thousand dollars. I would be surprised if the S9 isn't at least $500 cheaper than the studio display.
We had a good look at the S9 in a demo space this week, but we don't know how well it works in the real world. The microphones and speakers are Certifiably Good on the studio display, but we don't know how good they are.
It is safe to say that Apple will be undercut by both Dell and SAMSUNG here.
How well they integrate with Apple's peripherals is an open question. You will have to give up Apple-specific features like True Tone with these monitors, and if you connect them to a MacBook Pro 14 or 16 you won't get the ProMotion smoothness or brightness that comes with the MiniLED screens on those laptops. You don't get those things with the studio display Dell discontinued its 5K display after making it for a short period of time.
It is exciting that we are finally seeing actual options for high-resolution displays that are designed to make the most of macOS after so many years of either mediocre or overpriced options. There are rumors that Apple is working on as many as three new monitors, with options that use the same MiniLED tech found in the MacBook Pro displays.
It will be a good year if you are looking for a new monitor for your Macbook or Mac Studio.
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