Apple Studio Display XDR Review: We’re All Pros Now!

Summary

MKBHD reviews Apple’s new Studio Display XDR, a 27-inch 5K mini-LED monitor that effectively replaces the discontinued Pro Display XDR. The new display features 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness, 2,000 local dimming zones, a 120Hz adaptive sync refresh rate, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity — all for a starting price of $3,299 including the stand. Compared to the $5,000 Pro Display XDR (which required a separate $1,000 stand), the Studio Display XDR is brighter, has better contrast, and adds built-in speakers and a 1080p webcam that its predecessor lacked.

Beyond the hardware specs, Marques explores what the existence of this display reveals about Apple’s broader strategy. The fact that “Studio” is replacing “Pro” at the top of Apple’s lineup signals a deliberate shift away from niche professional products toward high-end consumer devices with pro-level capabilities. He draws a direct connection to the Mac Pro, which has not been updated since M2 Ultra in 2023, predicting its eventual demise in favor of the Mac Studio.

For the MacBook Pro owner looking for the ideal desk companion, Marques argues this is the definitive choice — a one-cable setup that charges at 140 watts, supports daisy-chaining multiple displays, and finally matches the MacBook Pro’s own high-refresh-rate mini-LED panel quality. The nanotexture glass option has also improved significantly since its debut on the original Pro Display XDR, and it is now $300 rather than $1,000 extra.

Highlights

”Studio Replaces Pro”

“So they couldn’t be more clear about Studio replacing Pro. But more importantly, this great display now is packaged like this, which is clearly an upgrade to the base Studio display and it’s also not just the screen.” — Marques Brownlee, 5:29

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”Mac Pro Is Doomed”

“And so the natural extension of this theory is that Mac Pro is doomed. Of course it’s doomed. Like I said, like you wrote down, Studio replaces Pro. And we already have a Mac Studio now getting more regular updates than the Mac Pro.” — Marques Brownlee, 6:52

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”The Difference Is Insane”

“And the mini-LED backlight is giving us way more contrast control. 2,000 local dimming zones versus the Pro Display’s 576. You can see it in a dark room with a black background video. The difference is insane. There’s way less blooming, higher contrast ratios. It’s actually not even really close.” — Marques Brownlee, 1:54

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”One-Cable Life with Daisy Chaining”

“And it’s also the one-cable life. Like plugging in a single Thunderbolt 4 cable into the display at your desk and getting all your accessories to light up. Everything else connected to all the other ports on the back of this display.” — Marques Brownlee, 4:29

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”The Best Possible Display for MacBook Pro”

“But at the end of the day, I do feel like if you want the best possible display to complement the MacBook Pro for that one cable plug in and come to life desk setup, it’s this one.” — Marques Brownlee, 9:57

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Key Points

• Two new displays announced (0:36) - Apple released a barely updated regular Studio Display alongside the brand new Studio Display XDR
• Same 11-year-old panel in base model (0:36) - The regular Studio Display still uses the same 27-inch 5K IPS LCD panel from over a decade ago, now with updated internals
• Mini-LED panel upgrade (1:05) - The XDR version finally gets a mini-LED display with 2,000 nits peak HDR brightness and 120Hz adaptive sync
• 2,000 local dimming zones (1:54) - Compared to Pro Display XDR’s 576 zones, resulting in dramatically less blooming and higher contrast
• 1,000 nits full-screen SDR (1:42) - Double the Pro Display’s 500 nit full-screen brightness in standard SDR mode
• Thunderbolt 5 connectivity (2:10) - Extra Thunderbolt 5 port on the back enables fast storage docking and display daisy chaining
• $3,299 starting price with stand (2:29) - Significantly cheaper than the Pro Display XDR which was $5,000 plus $1,000 for the stand
• Nanotexture for $300 (2:29) - Down from $1,000 extra on the Pro Display XDR, and the glass technology has improved over the years
• Improved nanotexture cleaning (3:00) - Unlike the original Pro Display’s fragile coating, the new version can likely be cleaned with standard microfiber cloths
• Better MacBook Pro pairing (4:13) - The XDR now matches the MacBook Pro’s high-refresh-rate mini-LED panel, unlike the old 60Hz LCD Studio Display
• Daisy chain up to 4 displays (4:46) - Can connect four Studio Displays or two Studio Display XDRs to one MacBook Pro through a single cable
• 140W MacBook Pro charging (5:00) - The display charges the MacBook Pro at full 140 watts through the Thunderbolt connection
• Studio replaces Pro branding (5:18) - Apple’s blog post calls it “the world’s best pro display” while using the Studio name, confirming the branding shift
• Apple abandoning niche pro market (6:11) - Marques theorizes Apple is no longer interested in targeting the small, picky professional market
• Mac Pro hasn’t been updated since 2023 (7:13) - Last updated with M2 Ultra; Marques predicts it will not receive further updates
• A19 Pro chip inside the display (9:29) - The monitor has an A19 Pro chip with 12GB of RAM just to run the webcam and speakers
• Non-removable power cable (9:46) - Despite the built-in power supply, the power cable is still permanently attached
• Short Thunderbolt 5 cable (9:20) - The included cable is only about 3 feet long

Mentions

Companies

• Apple (0:08) - Manufacturer of the Studio Display XDR and all related products discussed

Products & Technologies

• Studio Display XDR (0:08) - Main product reviewed; 27-inch 5K mini-LED monitor, $3,299
• Studio Display (regular) (0:36) - Barely updated base model with same 11-year-old panel, $1,600
• Pro Display XDR (1:05) - Previous flagship display being replaced; $5,000 plus $1,000 stand
• Thunderbolt 5 (2:10) - New connectivity standard on the back of both new Studio Displays
• Thunderbolt 4 (4:29) - Cable used for one-cable desk setup with MacBook Pro
• Mini-LED (1:05) - Backlight technology enabling 2,000 local dimming zones and high contrast
• Nanotexture glass (2:40) - Apple’s anti-glare coating, now in its latest generation at $300 extra
• Apple polishing cloth (3:08) - Apple’s accessory born from the original nanotexture cleaning requirements
• MacBook Pro (3:56) - Primary laptop companion for the Studio Display XDR
• iPad Pro (3:25) - Referenced as another product that received nanotexture
• Mac Pro (6:33) - Apple’s workstation; predicted to be killed off in favor of Mac Studio
• Mac Studio (6:52) - Desktop getting more regular updates than the Mac Pro
• M2 Ultra (7:13) - Last chip update the Mac Pro received, back in 2023
• A19 Pro chip (9:29) - Processor inside the display with 12GB of RAM, running webcam and speakers
• Center Stage (8:40) - 1080p webcam feature built into the display

People

• Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) (0:08) - Host and reviewer

Surprising Quotes

“See, this past week was actually a tale of two brand new displays from Apple. They dropped a barely updated regular Studio Display, which is the same design, same stand, same chassis, same 11-year-old panel, 27-inch 5K IPS LCD panel, but now with the new processor inside and new Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back, and it’s for the same $1,600 price. It’s a weird, good-looking but weird monitor.” — Marques Brownlee, 0:36

“It also adds a webcam and speakers that the Pro Display didn’t have. And it’s cheaper, which isn’t saying much because you remember the Pro Display was $5,000 and then the stand was an extra $1,000 and then the nanotexture was another $1,000.” — Marques Brownlee, 2:15

“I don’t think Apple really is interested in targeting the real pro, the professional market anymore. And this is probably a debate they’ve had many times internally, but that professional market is super small, it’s super picky, and it is the least likely to be interested in their ecosystem stuff.” — Marques Brownlee, 6:11

“Mac Pro hasn’t been updated since M2 Ultra back in 2023. And I’d be willing to bet that it doesn’t get any more updates.” — Marques Brownlee, 7:13

“There really isn’t much for me to compare this to, like I would love to look at other options for a 27-inch 5K, 2,000 nit HDR mini-LED display with high refresh rate, but there aren’t any.” — Marques Brownlee, 9:07

Transcript

Marques Brownlee: 0:00 Maybe, maybe we’re all pros. Maybe that’s what this means.

Marques Brownlee: 0:08 Yo, what’s up, MKBHD here, and this is Apple’s new Studio Display XDR. Probably can’t tell just by looking at it on camera, but this is the new one. I’ve been testing it, staring at it for a few days now. This is not the most important product that’s come out in the past couple weeks, let’s be real. But I’ve been watching Apple and covering them for a while, and the decisions that they make and the decisions that they don’t make, and I think the existence of this monitor as it sits actually tells us a lot more about what Apple’s doing right now.

Marques Brownlee: 0:36 See, this past week was actually a tale of two brand new displays from Apple. They dropped a barely updated regular Studio Display, which is the same design, same stand, same chassis, same 11-year-old panel, 27-inch 5K IPS LCD panel, but now with the new processor inside and new Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back, and it’s for the same $1,600 price. It’s a weird, good-looking but weird monitor. And then this one, this is brand new. This is the Studio Display XDR, and so it’s an upgraded, higher-performing version of that.

Marques Brownlee: 1:05 So it’s still a 27-inch 5K monitor with the same great stand, but the panel… oh, the panel. This time, it’s finally a mini-LED display with 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness and 120Hz max refresh rate with adaptive sync support. And this display replaces the Pro Display XDR.

Marques Brownlee: 1:21 Hmm. So the Studio Display replaces the Pro Display. Studio replaces Pro. Okay. Right, write that down. Write that down.

Marques Brownlee: 1:30 So turns out there’s not really that much else to say about the panel itself. It is an awesome display, and at a technical level, it’s actually better in every single way than the Pro Display XDR.

Marques Brownlee: 1:42 It gets much brighter. It’ll do 1,000 nits full screen in regular SDR mode. The Pro Display could only do 500. And it’ll do up to 2,000 nits peak brightness in HDR versus the Pro Display’s 1,600. And the mini-LED backlight is giving us way more contrast control. 2,000 local dimming zones versus the Pro Display’s 576. You can see it in a dark room with a black background video. The difference is insane. There’s way less blooming, higher contrast ratios. It’s actually not even really close.

Marques Brownlee: 2:10 And then it also gains the extra Thunderbolt 5 port on the back, which is sneakily extremely useful. And it also adds a webcam and speakers that the Pro Display didn’t have. And it’s cheaper, which isn’t saying much because you remember the Pro Display was $5,000 and then the stand was an extra $1,000 and then the nanotexture was another $1,000.

Marques Brownlee: 2:29 But this better display starts at $3,299 and includes that stand. And nanotexture is only $300 more.

Marques Brownlee: 2:40 Side note, the nanotexture thing they’ve been doing for some years now. I think it’s just progressively getting better and better. It started on the Pro Display XDR a decade ago, and… It was effective, but extremely difficult to clean. Like I can’t touch my Pro Display XDR without fear of leaving permanent marks on it. It’s kind of insane.

Marques Brownlee: 3:08 That also birthed the infamous Apple polishing cloth and its constantly updated compatibility list. But then they started bringing nano texture to other displays. The MacBook Pro, for example, got nano texture, and that’s a little better. You could use different cloths on it and effectively clean it pretty well.

Marques Brownlee: 3:25 And then they brought it to the iPad. So there’s an iPad Pro with nano texture, and that’s obviously a touchscreen.

Marques Brownlee: 3:30 So anyway, this is the nano texture version on the desktop then, years later. It did actually come with a note and a separate cleaning cloth, and the note says to only use this included polishing cloth to clean this, and it is a different polishing cloth than the previous Pro Display. So I think I can probably use other microfibers and not have any issue. And don’t worry, if you’re wondering, Apple did update the compatibility list for the old polishing cloth to include the new Studio Display.

Marques Brownlee: 3:54 I know you were all holding your breath for that one.

Marques Brownlee: 3:56 But last time I reviewed the Studio Display, I remember specifically pairing it again with my MacBook Pro and saying that even though this monitor is made for the Mac, it doesn’t actually feel like it makes a great pair with the MacBook Pro because they don’t match that well. The MacBook Pro is this nice high-refresh-rate mini-LED display, and then your Studio Display is a 60-hertz LCD.

Marques Brownlee: 4:13 But now the Studio Display XDR specifically is a much better pair with the MacBook Pro now. Now there are, as always, lots of other options for monitors that you could get to pair with your Apple computer. But the reason that a lot of people end up choosing the Studio Display, the Apple display, is because of how well it pairs with and works with the Mac.

Marques Brownlee: 4:29 And that’s not just aesthetics, though obviously being silver and metal is going to be a factor. But it’s also the one-cable life. Like plugging in a single Thunderbolt 4 cable into the display at your desk and getting all your accessories to light up. Everything else connected to all the other ports on the back of this display.

Marques Brownlee: 4:46 Including, if you want, another full-speed Thunderbolt 4 port to dock some really fast storage to the thing. You could even connect through that port to another Studio Display. So you could daisy chain up to four Studio Displays or two Studio Display XDRs together to the same MacBook Pro all through one single cable. And then they’d all be matching as high-refresh-rate, high-brightness mini-LEDs across the board, and it would be charging the MacBook Pro at 140 watts.

Marques Brownlee: 5:09 So what do I mean when I say we’re all pros now? What does that mean? Well, I did earlier say that Studio replaced Pro. You wrote that down, right? So this is the new Studio Display. But if you go to Apple’s blog post announcing this thing, they literally still call it the world’s best pro display in big text.

Marques Brownlee: 5:29 So they couldn’t be more clear about Studio replacing Pro. But more importantly, this great display now is packaged like this, which is clearly an upgrade to the base Studio display and it’s also not just the screen.

Marques Brownlee: 6:00 This version, there’s the Studio Display and then the upgraded Studio Display. And that is easier to sell and easier to explain. It’s easier to understand. And you know how much Apple loves their price ladders.

Marques Brownlee: 6:11 Anyway, my main theory is that I don’t think Apple really is interested in targeting the real pro, the professional market anymore. And this is probably a debate they’ve had many times internally, but that professional market is super small, it’s super picky, and it is the least likely to be interested in their ecosystem stuff. So they’ll dabble in really pro stuff once in a while, Mac Pro, sure, it exists. The Pro Display obviously, but that’s not really their bread and butter. Like they use the word pro, but most of the stuff that has the word pro in it, like the iPhone Pro or the MacBook Pro, is really high-end consumer devices that have like pro-level capabilities.

Marques Brownlee: 6:52 And so the natural extension of this theory is that Mac Pro is doomed. Of course it’s doomed. Like I said, like you wrote down, Studio replaces Pro. And we already have a Mac Studio now getting more regular updates than the Mac Pro.

Marques Brownlee: 7:13 Mac Pro hasn’t been updated since M2 Ultra back in 2023. And I’d be willing to bet that it doesn’t get any more updates. But that’s a tangent for another day. The point is, the word Studio replaces the word Pro at the very top of Apple’s lineup. That is the most pro of any of the stuff you’ll get from Apple is when you see the word Studio on it.

Marques Brownlee: 7:31 So, as someone who’s been using a Mac Pro and a Pro Display XDR since they came out, the immediate first thought when I saw these announced was should I be switching to the Mac Studio and the Studio Display XDRs? You know, I’ve gotten really used to these huge pro displays with more real estate, but 27-inch 5K with slightly thicker bezels is not a disaster. It’s still a lot of screen.

Marques Brownlee: 7:56 So, since everything else about it is better, I probably should be switching. But for everyone else out there who doesn’t already have a pro display and is looking for the best display to pair with say their MacBook Pro, this is about as good as it gets. Like as a video creator in this little studio we have here, this is more than pro enough for me.

Marques Brownlee: 8:18 Like I know there are Hollywood movie studios that don’t even need a webcam built-in and they don’t need speakers built into their monitor because it just lives in an editing den all day, never does any FaceTime calls or any gaming or YouTube watching. But this is more of a mixed-use product that is sometimes used to edit videos like the one you’re watching and edit photos like the thumbnail of this video.

Marques Brownlee: 8:40 But then other times is used to make a video call or get on a virtual meeting. And then the perfectly average 1080p center stage webcam is nice to have in that case. And sometimes it might actually be used to just watch videos, listen to music, do other random stuff.

Marques Brownlee: 8:56 And the speakers in here are still surprisingly good at that. They’re like 16-inch MacBook Pro level like impressive speakers for in this tiny chassis. You should probably still get dedicated speakers though, they’re not even going to be in the same planet. Even gaming if you wanted to, something an actual professional reference monitor would almost never be used for.

Marques Brownlee: 9:07 There really isn’t much for me to compare this to, like I would love to look at other options for a 27-inch 5K, 2,000 nit HDR mini-LED display with high refresh rate, but there aren’t any. But then the 120Hz Max refresh rate is great for animations and scrolling around.

Marques Brownlee: 9:20 So when I also point out that the Thunderbolt 5 cable that it comes with is kind of on the short side, it’s like 3 feet long, meh, doesn’t really seem to matter. Like I’m sure the other reviews will also point out that the top gets just a little bit warm once it’s been on for a little while, partially because it’s a really big bright display, also partially because there’s literally an A19 Pro chip in here with 12 gigs of RAM just to run the webcam and speakers.

Marques Brownlee: 9:46 There’s no question other people will bring up that even though the power supply is built in, the power cable is still non-removable, which is still super strange and will make it a pain to get replaced.

Marques Brownlee: 9:57 But at the end of the day, I do feel like if you want the best possible display to complement the MacBook Pro for that one cable plug in and come to life desk setup, it’s this one.

Marques Brownlee: 10:10 Now Apple, if you could just update the Mac Studio with like a M4, M5 Ultra soon as well, that would be very much appreciated.

Marques Brownlee: 10:21 But either way, we got a lot more coming up in Tech-tember, I mean, March, somehow this became Tech-tember or Tech-March, Tarch. It’s Tarch. Stay tuned for many more videos coming soon because it’s Tarch season. Catch you guys in the next one. Get subscribed. Peace.