Apple Studio Displays & Mac Studio - A Digital Artist's Perspective 

This is the best Apple hardware review I've seen for a long time. Totally agree with all of the comment given by you as a professional artist. This is precisely why I've been a long time Mac user professionally.

Awesome review. I’m so happy I came across this, the best review I’ve found and gives the most valuable perspective on the Studio Display. I’m also an audiophile and appreciate quality in equipment. It’s helped a lot. Thank you.

but the problem is that light bar are blocking the camera from the monitor ，is there any light bar that can serve this problem？

cool video.

Nice & Thanks :)

Finally! Finally a review from someone who actually has a background to write an honest review without the pitiful complaining about price, and appreciating that good materials and good design has its price. I subscribed to your channel immediately.

I'm 30 seconds in, but your setup looks like it came right out of a highly stylized utopian science fiction movie set. Stunning.

I like the setup! Interesting point of view compared to the traditional tech RU-vidr perspective.

Spot on review of the Studio Display, loved watching this. One thing to add: the reason people get bent out of shape about the pricing is the 27 inch imac, I think. That had a near identical screen, same superior built quality, and you could pick one up for a similar price as the studio display is now going for AND you'd have a computer AND a display in one package for that price. That was, in hindsight, an insanely good deal. Had that product not existed I think folks wouldn't have objected to the pricing of this display as much...

Seeing the direction Apple has been going in recently really makes me hopeful that your predictions of an Apple Drawing Display releasing one day. Something to compete with Wacom and hopefully outperform!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS! This is exactly what I've been trying to tell people and you nailed all your points on the head. I'm a sketch artist for an entertainment company and this display is perfect for what I do.

I totaly agree with every word you said. I have already ordered two of them and the Mac Studio as well. As a long term iMac user I was always very unhappy that I have to use the second monitor which was never as good as the iMac 5K display. And now I will have two perfect monitors absolutrly the same quality and picture.

Seriously can we stop already? Ive been a purchaser of apple products for going on 20 years now. Yes build quality is fantastic as is the intentional design, form and function. That said they are often, very often overpriced. Dramatically overpriced. You can pay 2-3x the market price for RAM if apple installs it for example. So, great monitor. Way way overpriced.

Two downsides - You can't daisy-chain them, if You connect both these to macbook it is an issue - You have two cables on both sides of laptop. Another is when You have two of these connected - only one can emit sound - THAT IS SUPER DUMB! :(

Let me be clear, I am not an artist but this was one of the best videos I have seen covering these products. I am also a content creator and really like how you did this. Subscribed :)

My employer got me one with a height adjustment option. I was surprised that this product box is at least 2-3 bigger when compared to BenQ or Dell. Environmentally it’s not the best compact box. Display materials and build quality are excellent, but squeezing creatives on the height adjustment option is a bit too much. I wish the stand had a rotation + VESA support out of the box.

He is right. I've ran through all kinds of monitors and simply nothing beats apples screens. Whether on iphone, ipad , imacs or macbooks. PPI and quality is what you pay for!

Their prices are actually cheap at a professional level. I have never found an equivalence of quality and standardized behavior that is cheaper except on the phones. The problem is that they are judged by general users vs a 150usd tablet, or a 200 chromebook. But to me the ability to really be able to paint on the go changed my life, with kids I would never be able to paint without the ipad pro 😂

So the next question then is when are we getting the apple equivalent of the cintiq so we have colour accuracy there too? I love my Ipad for procreate but it's too small for my bigger set up when you can have a nice big cintiq or huion that is 20"+. These seem great Edit: Also Adam what is your camera set up like for that rotating side to side motion? it looks really good

The most of Mac Studio Display reviewers are people that have intentionally make their videos to guide their audience to buy other monitors of brands that sponsor their channels. Unfortunately there’s a marketing narrative behind some big channels here on RU-vid with one intention: make money on hitting Apple or any other brand. This is why I choose to hear the professional consumer of some brand that I’m interested in or try that product myself to have my own opinion about it or even to hear other normal people like me to tell me how was their experience with some product.

Great video! On an unrelated note, I noticed your setup with the dual HomePod minis. How do you use those, especially with the studio monitors and the built-ins on the ASD? I'm genuinely curious because I have a similar setup but without the HomePods.

This is one of the best Reviews I watched in a looooooong time I am definitly not the target for this display but I was absorbed to this

I just know I would much prefer an OLED plastic monitor than a metal/aluminium QLED display

What I’m having a hard time reconciling is how can the Apple display be superior with colors if it’s not a true 10 bit display? It’s 8bit + FRC so it can’t display the same amount of colors as a 10 bit panel. Thoughts?

Man the production quality of this video is absolutely top notch! Love the review!

You know your things for sure! no doubt! however....calling apple display "the best CALIBRATED monitor" it's a bit of a stretch. I did work on iMac Pro display and it's wonderful yes! but calibration is something that needs to be done periodically as LED might slightly change over time. Now, if you're not a professional photographer or someone who really care about colour accuracy then yes 5K Retina display is the king...otherwise it's just good piece of design with great features in it, except the ability to mimic real life colors. I guess for your job you don't need such accuracy, you better go for high density pixels and high brightness level I actually get your point. nice video!

Could you please share your thoughts on whether you think nano texture is worth it over the standard glass and which of these two options did you pick. Does the light on top of the monitor cause lots of reflections and glare on standard glass? Many thanks

The problem with Apple pricing is not they charge a premium for products, but for upgrades, to get 16GB RAM and 512GB Storage one has to shell 300-400$ extra.. from the base model..

I have a triple 27 setup and honestly don't care if my screens are touching and how much bezel space there is. I use a ball mouse, so as not to move my hand such large distances... Triple 32 would be too big..., agreed. I already find myself leaning sometimes when I have a window far left or far right.

Thank you for this clear and objective presentation. I just have one question: are your displays nano- textured?

Man. Your set up is a work of art. Great video essay on the topic. I bought 2 of them. Couldn't agree more. Even through I'm not a digital artist, I can appreciate your perspective.

Thanks for letting know to all “tech” channels why the studio display is a great/value monitor, great video!!!

I think the screen was released a bit early as it is missing a few features. Better webcam quality they say is in the works. I want them to also let you pair the studio speakers with other studio displays in the same room for audio. Hopefully it will only get better with firmware updates.

Outside of the beautiful backdrop the content was money. The way you explained how Apple is ambiguous about who their real customer is makes so much sense lol A lot of people buy Apple just cause of its name and design. Is professionals know that a great quality well built machine or display that is reliable is worth every penny if you use it TO MAKE MONEY I have had an iMac and a 5k 27” Ultra fine monitor and I waited and waited so long for Apple to design a new iMac that removed that MASSIVE CHIN. I wanted matching screens. When the studio displays came out I knew I had to get them I just recently bought 2 of them and will now have a 3 monitor setup with the LG Ultrafine UNTIL next year when I buy a 3rd Studio Display I m a software engineer and I find myself constantly needing more screens. I don’t like flipping between “desktops”. I want everything I need with a turn of my neck One entire 5k monitor is used for my code editor in a Split View. That leaves my second monitor for a million things. A web browser, slack, a terminal, music player and various other apps I use daily This is how I do my job better in my personal way so paying for the monitors does hurt a little but it’s worth it

The Apple displays do not have a higher contrast ratio, than any other mid- to high end ISP panel. It's not physically possible. Yes, it benefits from 500+ dimming zones, but other brands make displays with that too. And mini-LED displays will be even better. If you turn up the brightness to its max. on the Apple displays, they will outperform most monitors, but the contrast ratio will remain the same, unless the display is in/supports HDR mode. As for color accuracy, the Apple displays are great, but they do not outperform other high end monitors. If your work looks more close, working on your displays and validating on your phone but it's not the same using a BenQ, then there's something wrong with your calibration. They should be identical, as long as the display can output the same brightness. That of course rules out dedicated monitors for photography, as they usually don't get brighter, than 2-300 nits. The contrast ratio on an Apple display doesn't even come close to your Apple phone or any device with an Oled screen and high contrast ratio. Call any Apple display high end, and people from the film industry will start laughing. They work on reference monitors, Apple displays are not even in the same ballgame as. I don't think you did, but it's just a reminder. They do however have one thing in common with you. They sit on these reference monitors, then go home and watch on high end TVs and then they cry. Cause no TV and no end user monitor can come close to what they sit at, at work. It's not only Hollywood studios, it's any TV station, that uses these displays. But their goal isn't to get a picture that looks the same at home, as on their reference monitor. Their goal is to work to a reference, that all agrees to, so that all end users have the average good experience.

this is one of the most lucid tech reviews i’ve watched in this platform. a lot of people try to over produce or over critique, both to add credibility (?) to the review, but you have a naturally beautiful display and a hell of a perspective. beautiful video!! can’t wait to get this set up!

Awesome review that really puts things in perspective and solidifies even more my decision to get one. Thank you. (BTW, I don’t get why everyone makes a big deal out of the bezels either. I’m an artist and a designer. Looks good to me.)

Curious on your dual monitor orientation, which see in many videos. Personally, I like to have my primary montior face on, and the second angled about 20 degrees with the side bezels touching. Find this very focussed, and aligned with my body, with the second display easy to view because of the angle. Beautiful video, thanks!

Adam thank you so much for putting out this review, and it's super sleek, but honest-to-god, I can't stop obsessing about your ipad stand. What kind of stand is it?

Thanks for this great video. I just bought one and was having second thoughts as i’m not used to having such a large monitor as well as my pen display. People say you get used to it though so that’s good, but the main thing that’s selling it for me is the colour accuracy and it’s great hearig everything you’re saying about that and how it fits into your work. I’m an animator and have had similar frustrations with spending ages getting the colours just right on my pen display and then watching on my ipad and being really put off by how much the colours don’t match.

I just ordered the Apple studio display today , as I gave up wasting countless hours watching reviews regarding other monitors for Lightroom and photoshop . I think the value is great considering it’s 5k , an ingenious scaling move imo . Super high I and perfect scaling , something you don’t get with 4K. Someday I hope to run two, one for RU-vid tutorials and one for PS LR etc

I really hope any future high-end drawing tablets from Apple take into account ZBrush users. I have yet to try a tablet brand that works correctly in ZBrush, except Wacom. Lots of little issues that make sculpting an absolute chore. And it's really hard to find reviews from digital sculpters when doing research so I've wasted my money on a few tablets

Thank you for this video. I've been working on my Studio Display for nearly a year now and today I started checking RU-vid if a dual Studio Display setup would work for me, and found your video. Such a great explanation of Apple products, it could not have been done any better.

So glad I came across your video! Absolutely love your authentic opinion about it all and that you dare to swim against the current. While everyone is very much reviewing from one point of view, I love that you come from a perspective of a gamer AND also a digital artist who's reviewing a dynamic setup. That is just the best perspective I've come so far! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and I am a new subscriber now, looking forward for your content and getting to know you more :) x

It's been a long time since I have felt fulfilled after watched a RU-vid video. Thank you for that..

It’s not possible to do 120Hz at 5K over Thunderbolt without degrading image quality. An external display with 120Hz at 5K is not happening.

Same on the Dell U2723qe cheap shit...it looks good, but thats all, wobble-monster.....i send it back to the no1 monitor company....haha

I wish there was a review of this monitor from a Coder. But it's always artists, videographers, influencers.. but no code monkeys.

I am sorry, I was really buying all your good arguments, until you defended a $400 stand because in part is it built to last. Hint, Apple warranty on the display is One year; BenQ warranty on their display you show, is 3 years. Say that "designed to last" argument again, but now in Spanish por favor.

I am going to order a second Apple Monitor-- trying to find a wide screen but the scaling just doesnt work. So two Apple monitors aren't great (bezel between the two) but I think better alternative. The 40" LG thunderbolt was a close second but didnt scale well with MacBook

So strange. I work in UX. I have a Mackbook pro and some crappy Dell as my second monitor. Even when I was in graphic design, I ALWAYS had a great display and a not so great one next to each other. Because I design for other people, I have to keep in mind that people will not always have a great display. How will my subtleties be viewed on a shit screen? I think it's always a good idea to have a bad display too if you're producing visual work, just to see how non Apple people will be able to view it.

A lot of what you say is very well thought out and insightful. Much better than most reviews which say "Well you could spend less and get Monitor X"---which is clearly inferior with much lower PPI, colors, build quality, and features. So it's like saying why spend so much on filet mignon when you could buy a perfectly edible Salisbury steak? I'm with you on the Studio Display price. And the AirPods Max price as those are super comfortable and do sound shockingly clear for wireless headphones. They don't sound as good as my Sennheiser 660's or my HiFiMan Sundara's but they somehow do sound better than many wired headphones. Which just shouldn't be. But you lost me a little when you defended the $400 stand. Cannot cross that bridge with you. You do teeter dangerously close to Apple fanboy territory there.

Holy crap does this setup look clean Adam! LOVE the camera movement from side to side!!! Production quality just goes up with every year, keep up the amazing work!

AirPods max sound awful. They have too much distortion at high listening levels. Galaxy buds plus sound way way better.

You’re probably going to get a lot of “apple fanboy” comment for this video because they don’t really listed to your arguments. I would that I disagree but still I find it somewhat lackluster nowadays, I get the feeling that this display got delayed a year to two. I scroll a lot so 60 hrz is a no go for me. That refresh rate and missing daisy chain functionality is the main reason I don’t consider them. My use case if different but for yours or photographers this makes a lot of sense

This guy must be trolling about their headphones. Apple headphones sound like trash compared to Galaxy Buds. Just ask any audiophile.

Awesome review. A note about build quality, to agree with you: people for some reason don’t like to think that build quality ever should justifiably affect price. It’s wild, and perhaps is partly because people don’t know how to quantify build quality in building a price estimate. As an industrial designer, I get it. So yeah, I really don’t care how much this display costs - I know what I’m getting: a display that will last me at least as long as my 2003-4 23” Cinema Display

...so You're saying You've stopped using Your WACOM Cintiq?

Great perspective of the artist on these products. Thank you.

You have a baller dual studio display setup in the back there yet this entire video is just watching your face talk. What is the point? Why did you think that made sense?

I'm obsessed with the color grading in your video - LOVE IT!!!

ok if you use the apple air pods max why have you got a wired. set on your desk! ??

The Apple Studio Display is obviously aimed at digital artists, illustrators, photographers, not really to print or high video colour grading (although it may be more versatile than we may think…). It’s just a pity that Apple doesn’t offer a less specked version (mainly the screen and an average camera) that would be, undoubtedly, less costly. Personally, I think this design would fit perfectly a new version of the iMac 27”, with a few modifications. One can dream…

I’m about to purchase the studio and have been back and worth with purchasing this display, the m8, or the BenQ competitor… more so going to end up with the studio display.

sorry… but it feels like apple is making customers fall in line with high prices

Solid review. Very thorough. I am getting into product photography and my budget is more like under $1k. I really like the Studio Display so I was looking at the LG Ultrafine 24” for Mac at $699 as its got a lot of the same features dummied down. Any thoughts on that for what I am doing? Really appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

This is a long shot, but since you have two of the Studio Displays and want to use each display as their own dedicated Left/Right speaker, you should be able to set that up using the “Audio MIDI Setup” app. I’ve had luck going this route with an iMac and Thunderbolt Display side by side. Utilities Folder > Audio MIDI Setup > bottom left “+” > Create Aggregate Device / Create Multi-Output Device

Do you think 32 gb of ram is enough for the mac studio with the m1 MAX? I'm a digital artist too. Thanks!

Me watching on my iPad Pro… Yeah, their colour and screen quality is top notch for sure!

i like the black on white logo in this video! maybe time to update the youtube logo :O

I also prefer 27 than 32, my necks pains on 32.

How do you have such flawless skin? im not joking lol

Hope one day I'll afford to buy Apple stuff, but if I do, I will have a setup like you Adam

Well I get your point. If your livelihood depends on having good equipment, then it's an investment. Still ... I wouldn't want to spend that kind of money on Apple products. And regarding the Airpods Max, i need to disagree. Yeah sure- comapired to Sony's WH1000XM4's they sound way better. But there are better ways to go about this. I own a couple of pair of studio headphones. And also a Fiio Btr5 which turns any pair of wired headphones into bluetooth head phones. In my humble opinion, it's a way better option to have AudioTechnicas M50x's (130$) or Beyerdynamics DT770's (also 130$) and a 80$ dongle which outputs a hi-res sound, then buying a 500$ headphones just because it's Apple- I've had a pair and was very disappointed with them. I find the DT770 or M50x's sounding way better and are were way cheaper. This is just my opinion though, but Apple is not the greatest option out there.

Kudos for the Beksinski book/album

You can rant all day.. I'll be listening 🙂

Use both monitor speakers= Audio Midi Setup> Create Multi-output device> add devices you want. You lose the ability to control the volume normally with the standard volume slider and buttons on the keyboard however, I have seen that there are 3rd party apps out there that you can download to fix this issue.

You talked about something that I’ve been saying to my colleagues for a few years now. I’m a designer, digital artist and part time photographer. I also work with dual displays but because we’re just starting out I always find inconsistencies viewing images on lower end mismatched screens. So we pass images around to each other’s phones to view them before we send them out. I’ve had to draw and design with the final look in mind, which to my eye is different on the screen as I work. Looks like this solves it, and thanks for talking about it from a professional artist’s perspective, very good insight.

I like this and other apple products from a product design view but disagree on the linking of this product with being a professional digital artist, that kind of statement might have made sense way back, today really just a luxury good imo. btw I also don’t recognise the issues you mentioned with colour shift (cintiqs aside)

Wow excellent review! There is a lot of noise and opinions about these monitors... Much of which has made me question my purchase and explore alternative options (I currently have 6 monitors in my house that I'm deciding which to keep). Pretty sure I am going to stick with my decision on the Apple Studio displays. I really love these displays, just felt guilty for paying as much as I did 😂😂

Love every review of yours. Totally speaking my language haha

Why not AirPods Max review ?

My apologies if someone else already shared this, but you can run a second monitor off of a 24 iMac. All M1 iMacs support two monitors. I have not see anyone running an Apple 27" monitor on a 24" iMac but it can be done. It would make an interesting setup for those in that middle ground needing M1 power and a decent double monitor setup.

Superb review. So sick and tired of hearing about the fixed cable and the tech youtubers going on about promotion.

This is the best review I’ve watched on this product. From a professional artist’s perspective, this is just what I was looking for. You hit the nail on the head on all points. Mine is on order as we speak. Thanks.

This guy just wanted to show off his desk lol

Yes finally someone who understands from a point of view of an artist. I mainly draw on my ipad pro and when i airdrop it on my mac mini, my drawing looks very different using my $200 acer monitor. But if i airdrop it on my iphone it looks exactly the same as on my ipad. If i have the money i would gladly buy this monitor

Great video on the studio - one on order to go with my Max studio

What iPad stand is that next to the monitor? Is that even an iPad? It's to the right of the monitor.

I couldn’t agree more about the studio display…. Most apple products in general. They are just different in a class on their own… I love how people try to “compare” to other brands. There isn’t a apples to apples comparison (pun intended) in my opinion they can charge whatever they want if there is no other equal to compete against. The screen just has a gleam to it and an experience that no other I have tried can produce.. I keep going outside the box trying the latest and greatest computer stuff from all the brands… they are getting better for sure but still there is no equal to the experience…. I feel they are so far ahead because of their great amount of time spent on research and development that nobody will be able to create such a streamline matching product line that gives the feeling that apple products give.

very nice video; yet I am puzzled why you left the microphone retractable arm visible in all the A-roll shots. A but distracting.

If you want the best get the best. #Apple

My 2020 iMac’s calibration at my new work is WAY off. It’s far too warm to edit color on, and I’m having a Spyder ordered (I’m their first in-house creative). My cheap Technicolor pre-calibrated HP monitors at home on the other hand, needed nothing. I put them on a calibrator, and (as promised) they were spot on from the factory. I think Apple usually does ok, so I was a bit surprised. Anyone relying on accuracy should always be calibrating themselves anyway.

I don’t see the need for it in my case. I already have a beeeefy pc, cintiq and good enough monitors. Generally speaking I also despise usb-c and most of all Apple themselves. If they did not glue stuff into the case and other anti-consumer practices, then I would be fine with using their stuff. But I’m happy for those who end up enjoying their products tho, life is to short to not enjoy, and if their stuff makes your day better, then go for it.

Hey Adam, just found out about your channel and have been binge-watching your podcast videos, I think you have a yoga stretching video in your Live art podcast playlist lol.

I totally agree with this review. Most other reviews miss the boat. I am ordering an Apple Studio display after 2 month of reviewing other options. There is no other option that better fits my needs. Price is not a deciding factor when considering a long term investment. I have an Apple Cinema display 27”. About 13 years old. It is used daily 9 hours a day. Still performing as well as the first day I bought it. Quality performance, well built, colour is still accurate. I have an IMac that is 20 years old that I updated the ram and drive. My wife still uses it for basic web browsing and email mostly. Big Apple fan for professional and personal uses. Currently have a Macbook pro 16” M1 Max with 64GB ram. Its a beast! Works so well for professional use in my consulting business and also my Astrophotography hobby which requires performance. Apple computers and displays break this idea that you need to replace your computer every few years. They are built to last and even if you upgrade, the older version finds a new use for many years.

A couple things. When you are talking about calibration, are you talking out of the box calibration or calibrationability (new word) between different display types and makers? I've noticed that even with a hardware calibration tool, I have been unable to match displays in the past, even when the software told me they should match. And for the stereo pair monitors, could you use Audio Midi tool, create a multi-output device that sent audio to both monitors and then mute the right channel on the left monitor and the left channel on the right monitor? Worth a shot at least. Beyond that, this is a helpful video from a viewpoint that more closely matches my own needs than most other reviews I've seen.

Audio Hijack app along with a custom speaker configuration in Audio Midi Setup app should get you using both Studio monitors as a stereo pair. Thanks for the review/commentary, I agree with most of your musings. Love my Studio Display, they are a work of art irrespective of specs and price.

Can’t wait to see an Apple Cintiq 22” 🥰 (with an extra Cintiq like stand)

The reason people get “bent out of shape” about the price is that its expensive for what it is… Apple love their profit margins. They produce as few products as possible but charge the highest price they can. Its always been their modus operandi. Apple is not just a technology company. They are a fashion brand. And people pay for not only the build quality, but the minimalistic, pleasing design aesthetic. No other technology company tries to produce high-end products that people WANT as much as they need them. Apple usually hits the nail in the head on both fronts. I would prefer that Apple reduce their prices (and profit margins) and sell more units to a much happier consumer base. But it’s unlikely to ever happen.