Apple just re-entered the mainstream monitor space with the Studio Display, a 27-inch, 5K monitor meant for creative professionals with smaller budgets than those who can afford Apple’s top option.
Up until today, the only monitor Apple sold was the Pro Studio XDR, a 32-inch, 6K display that started at $5,000 before you added the $1,000 stand. It’s made for big Hollywood production teams, and costs, erm, Hollywood money. Announced at its ‘Peek performance’ event, the $1,599 Studio Display, while not a budget monitor, makes sense as a companion to a MacBook Pro or the new Mac Studio desktop.
Digging into the specs, the Studio Display has a 27-inch, 5K Retina display capable of reaching 600 nits of brightness and offers P3 color gamut support. It also comes with True Tone, which changes the white balance based on your environment. Sorry, no mini-LED here, but remember, Apple is trying to keep the price down.
The display has all of the outputs you need for video conferencing, listening to music, or connecting peripherals. That includes a six-speaker sound system (consisting of four woofers and two tweeters) with Spatial Audio, “studio-quality” mics, three USB-C ports, a Thunderbolt 4 with 96W passthrough charging, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle webcam with Center Stage.
This monitor comes with a stand that tilts and is height-adjustable, or you can attach the monitor to a VESA mount (portrait and landscape mode are supported). Apple says you can connect up to three Studio Displays to your MacBook Pro to create a full 3D animation studio.
The Studio Display costs $1,599 and is $100 off for education. The monitor is available today for pre-order and will ship on March 18.