Apple has unveiled the Mac StudioDisplay during the Peek Performance event. The 5K Retina display is the successor to the ProDisplayXDR. Which is better?
Apple has unleashed a flurry of new products during the Peek Performance event, and among them was its second-ever external display: The Studio Display. The monitor arrives as a successor to the Pro Display XDR.
There is a massive gap in the pricing of these two displays, but it’s not exactly clear whether Apple is hoping for the Studio Display to take the same place in its lineup as the Pro Display XDR. Both of these monitors vary in terms of specifications, so the huge price difference between the older model and the newer model may be warranted.
Apple clearly prioritized the speakers on its new monitor, which is not something that many of the best monitors tend to offer — the speaker quality has a tendency to be quite poor. The Studio Display comes with six speakers, including four force-canceling woofers that help improve the bass and two tweeters that amplify the mid and high tones. The speakers are all routed separately, offering Dolby Atmos virtual spatial audio.
The Pro Display offers a stunning level of brightness, peaking at around 1,600 nits and sustaining 1,000 nits at its base level, all thanks to the 576 blue LEDs that are found within the screen. Apple promises a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and at the time of its release, was marketed by Apple as the best display for professionals in the world.
The two screens look much different from the back. The Pro Display XDR has a dotted surface that resembles the Mac Pro, while the Studio Display has a smooth screen with Thunderbolt ports in the back. The Pro Display XDR is a larger display, measuring 32 inches compared to the 27 of the Studio Display. It also offers a higher resolution and is a 6K Retina screen instead of the 5K on the Studio Display. Both the displays have a 50-60Hz adjustable refresh rate.