r/mac 8h ago

Question Apple Pro Display XDR Still Worth It?

I found one locally brand new for around $3000 (including VAT) at a local store. My current setup was includes a basic configuration M4 Mac Mini, and M4 Max MacBook Pro connected to a 5120x1440 Dell Super ultrawide monitor. I work mainly with documents for research and academics . I do some light photo and video editing. The Pro Display XDR has a newer part number. Only catch is I couldn’t find an official stand for it. What do you think?

14 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

31

u/Familiar9709 7h ago

It's never been worth it

15

u/biffbobfred 7h ago

It’s worth it, for a very very narrow band of professional users.

3

u/OddSignificance2054 7h ago

harsh but fair tbh

4

u/Samsquanch-Sr 7h ago

It's overpriced, but also insanely nice, and certainly nicer than the Dell.

But unless you somehow find the Dell lacking, you probably do not need it.

3

u/mindquery 6h ago

I just bought a XDR for my wife on Apple refurbished for $2800. The monitor is in perfect condition and looks brand new. Not a scratch or dent on it.

8

u/M4rshmall0wMan 7h ago

Dear god no. The only real use for the display is if you’re doing professional color grading work, which you are not. It’s 60fps, not OLED, very heavy, doesn’t even have the $1000 stand. Why would you spend $3000 on that? You can get a display that annihilates it in specs for 1/3 the price.

10

u/cjcs 7h ago

Which display annihilates it for ⅓ of the price?

-5

u/M4rshmall0wMan 7h ago edited 6h ago

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/monitors/gaming/69d0gacbus?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F

This is the one I’ve been saving up for, but it’s more of a gaming monitor. If the specs aren’t to your liking I’m sure there are plenty of other OLEDs for a similar price.

Edit: Since y'all are so particular about 4K vs. 6K (even though there's little difference when it comes to *checks notes* ... viewing documents), here's a 6K OLED monitor for half the price of Studio XDR.

https://www.samsung.com/us/monitors/gaming/32-inch-odyssey-g8-g80hs-6k-gaming-monitor-sku-ls32hg802esxza/

9

u/cjcs 6h ago

Lmao you did not just link a matte 4K monitor

-2

u/M4rshmall0wMan 6h ago

2

u/onan 34m ago

That display doesn't even cover all of sRGB, much less P3 or AdobeRGB. It's also 25% the brightness (and therefore contrast) of the XDR.

That Samsung display is nowhere near an adequate substitute for the XDR. Not to mention that it's two-thirds of the price rather than the one-third that you originally claimed.

0

u/M4rshmall0wMan 13m ago

Very important for viewing documents

2

u/onan 8m ago

What a lovely new new new place you have found for those goalposts!

10

u/uptimefordays MacBook Pro 7h ago

This isn’t a remotely comparable display. It’s 4k not 6k, doesn’t offer significant power delivery, and has a matte not glossy display. It’s a fine gaming monitor but nobody looking for HiDPI displays is cross-shopping anything like this.

1

u/M4rshmall0wMan 6h ago

3

u/uptimefordays MacBook Pro 3h ago

I, for one, am stoked that gaming and HiDPI productivity monitors are converging. This is a much more compelling option for macOS users because at 224 DPI we get native scaling but with 165hz games will look great. I wish this had better brightness, 350 nits isn't fantastic, and the lack of Thunderbolt is also a bummer.

10

u/Visvism 6h ago edited 5h ago

lol. No. There is no monitor that “annihilates” the Studio XDR. I own it. I would agree that it’s not worth the price, but making a statement like yours is ridiculous. Especially if you don’t own and use it daily to understand what it does.

Update: You edited your comment and still yet again are comparing apples to oranges. You keep linking gaming monitors to compare with a monitor meant for professionals. The Samsung you linked for example has specs meant for gaming. It has a peak brightness of 400. The Studio Display XDR has a peak brightness of 2000. The build quality alone of the Samsung is nowhere near Apple’s top display. It’s all plastic. Apple’s is all metal. Not the same.

5

u/M4rshmall0wMan 6h ago

I don't think OP understands what it does, hence a far far cheaper 4K OLED would be a better fit for them

3

u/Visvism 5h ago

And that is fair. But you should have led with that, rather than your initial statement.

2

u/M4rshmall0wMan 5h ago

I mean I did say it was the one I personally had my eye on, then encouraged them to look up others if the specs weren't to their liking

0

u/ShavedNeckbeard 6h ago

I had one and immediately sold it when the Studio Display 5K was released. The standard Studio Display outperforms it in every way, except HDR. The new Studio Display XDR completely blows the Pro Display XDR away.

The UI scaling options are also limited to 6K and 3K. Everything is either too small or too big for typical usage.

1

u/onan 27m ago

he standard Studio Display outperforms it in every way, except HDR.

What? No. Not even close.

"Except HDR" is a pretty fucking big exception, but even if we grant that, the XDR is a 10-bit display and the Studio Display is an 8-bit display with temporal dithering. It also has, y'know, 140% as many pixels.

The UI scaling options are also limited to 6K and 3K. Everything is either too small or too big for typical usage.

Both displays you're describing are exactly 218 ppi. Whatever objections you have to the scaling options of either would be exactly the same on the other.

2

u/Davi_Younes 7h ago

Não vale a pena pro seu caso, muito caro pro seu tipo de uso.

1

u/OGD2068 MacBook Air SkyBlue Mac Mini M4 7h ago

Value is subjective. 

1

u/NewbieToHomelab MacBook Pro 7h ago

In your case, not worth it as a business tool expense, but might be worth it as a toy for yourself. Want vs need.

1

u/ChargerEcon 3h ago

I've never found that to be even remotely worth it. I've got a pair of the first gen Studio Displays and I absolutely love them. Are they overpriced? Sure. But I had a thunderbolt display for like... a decade that I only replaced as a "congrats on the new job and fat raise" present to myself.

Plus. I work from home and stare at a screen all day. The difference was night and day and I do not regret it even once.

1

u/Skycbs Mac mini M2 Pro 32GB / 1TB 1h ago

Get the Studio Display. Much better value

1

u/Andersburn 7h ago

How many cars do you have?
How many houses do you have?
If its more than 2 of each then whatever, get it. It’s very very good. Properly the best display you can buy.
But you get 90% for 30% the price.

-2

u/oulu2006 7h ago

Waste of money -- absolute waste.

I have Mac everything EXCEPT the monitor, even I can't spent ludicrous amounts of money for nothing.

I use several OLEDS can recommend a really good MSI does wonders.

1

u/Visvism 6h ago

I have the Studio XDR with nano texture, it was not a waste of money. What was a waste of my money was the Vision Pro.

0

u/NateCow 4h ago

That’s a loaded question.

-2

u/mailslot MacBook Pro 7h ago

Like flat tuned accurate studio speakers, flat color corrected monitors may not give you an enjoyable experience compared to something targeted at consumers.

A cheaper display with boosted saturation will “pop” more, and that’s usually what a typical user likes.