There are two types of people in the world. There’s the person who happily tosses a bunch of mismatched gear on a desk and calls it a setup. Then there’s the person with properly placed objects, minimal-to-no cable clutter and careful color choices — down to the charging-pad-and-braided-cable level.
Today’s featured setup clearly belongs to the second type of person.
An intrepid Apple expert set out to convert an iMac on its last legs into a useful external monitor with the same general design and functionality as a new Studio Display. The inspiration comes from Apple’s recently released monitor using a 27-inch 5K LCD, as do all the iMacs made for many years.
Watch a video of this DYI project to see if this is something you’d like to do with that old iMac you have gathering dust.
Apple built a fix for the webcam quality issues on its new Studio Display into macOS 12.4, which is in beta testing. This will fulfill Apple’s promise to improve the look of video conferencing done with the camera.
Early tests with the pre-release software show definite improvements.
After Apple rolled out its new Studio Display on March 18, the reviews poured in. Many praised the 27-inch 5K display. But some found faults. Ultimately, after the dust settled, a primary question lingered. It’s good, for the most part, but is it worth the $1,600 price?
Today’s featured setup seems to answer the question in the affirmative. See how the Studio Display in the photo floats in the air? When you think about it, it’s really just a matter of factoring in the value of levitation.
Late last week, Apple stopped signing iOS 15.4 following the release of iOS 15.4.1, making it impossible for users to downgrade their iPhones’ software. But the change also inadvertently stopped people from updating their new Studio Displays’ firmware, based on iOS.
Complaints ensued on Sunday. And before the end of the day, Cupertino re-signed iOS 15.4, making it valid and verifiable to servers again.
Did Apple release the $1,599 Studio Display with so much fanfare only to forget about it when it launched iOS 15.4.1?
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: So, what’ll it be first? Good news or bad news about iPhone 14? We’re talking about Touch ID, a possible Apple hardware subscription service and an even bigger camera bump on the Pro model. Hoo boy!
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
This week’s episode is brought to you by CultCloth. Forget about that overpriced Apple Polishing Cloth. This is the cleaning cloth your Apple devices deserve.
iFixit showed people the interior of the new Apple Studio Display next to a partially disassembled iMac and asked them to pick which is which. You can play along at home by looking at the image above.
Most people got it wrong. Apple’s latest external monitor (on the left) is packed with features, and that’s reflected in its surprisingly complex internal design.
iFixit put the device through a full teardown and found that many of the most important components of the new external monitor showed up in previous Apple devices.
We’ve written about storing a Mac mini in an upright rather than a flat position to save space. It’s OK to do if the machine’s intake and exhaust vents are not blocked. But what about using your Mac mini as a stand for a display, as in today’s featured computer setup?
It’s not necessarily quite as cut-and-dried as the upright mini question. Whether it’s totally fine or a little risky depends a little more on the specific Mac mini and the kind of monitor you use.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first Mac Studio benchmarks make Apple’s much-ballyhooed M1 Ultra chip sound less amazing than we hoped. Maybe it’s not the unhinged beast we expected! But then, what do benchmarks really mean, anyway?
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
This week’s sponsor is JAMF, an Apple device-management solution that gives individuals and businesses the tools they need to wrangle iPhones, Macs, iPads and more. Register with JAMF now to manage three devices for free.
The official release date for sales of Apple’s new Studio Display was Friday, March 18 — same as the Mac Studio desktop computer. Both are winning accolades — the desktop more than the display, actually — but in the days since launch we’ve seen quite a few more of the displays cropping up on social media site posts by new owners than the desktops.
There could be various reasons for that. It could mean more people are buying the displays. Or maybe display shipping has been more efficient. Or it could be that displays are simply a little faster and easier to add to a computer setup, so they’re showing up quicker.
Today’s featured setup pairs the new Studio Display — which ousted an LG 5K monitor — with a 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro.
Studio Display’s surprisingly powerful internals allow it to enable “Hey Siri” on a number of older Mac models that don’t usually support the feature — including the 2019 Mac Pro and several Mac mini variants.
Users also discovered that Studio Display has a surprisingly large (64GB) amount of internal storage. We already knew that it runs the same version of iOS 15.4 as iPhone, but still, all that space seems pretty overkill.
If you purchase an Apple Studio Display and decide you want a different stand later, you can get it upgraded at the Apple Store, according to a new report. That’s despite Cupertino warning that they’re “not interchangeable.”
Pricing varies depending on the stand or mount you want and your region. It is believed the upgrade kits are only available to Apple technicians and Authorized Service Providers, so you cannot carry out the swap yourself.
With Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event only just past and deliveries of newly release products in progress, we see computer setups with new Mac Studio desktops and Studio Display monitors cropping up on social media sites.
Checking in with real people and their first impressions about the gear — and their answers to others’ questions about it — can be a pretty good early look at how things are going with Apple’s latest products.
Apple’s new Studio Display is incredibly impressive in more ways than one. And while some early reviews note that other excellent monitors are available for less, there are some things that make Studio Display completely unique.
Not only is it powered by an A13 Bionic chip, for instance, but Studio Display runs iOS 15.4. No, not a watered-down version of it, but exactly the same iOS 15.4 build that you have installed on your iPhone and iPad. You just can’t use it.
Apple’s new Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPad Air and iPhone SE officially go on sale today. That means customers who preordered early (before shipping dates slipped) are beginning to receive the first deliveries around the world.
If you, like me, are disappointed not to be reveling in the same delight as they are, here are a whole bunch of photos that highlight what we’re missing out on.
Apple has promised that it will address webcam quality issues on its new Studio Display with a software update.
The monitor’s rather disappointing camera performance is one of the biggest frustrations among reviewers. One likened it to an “old BlackBerry,” while another said it is “awful in good light and downright miserable in low light.”
The first reviews of Apple’s new Studio Display are in, and just as expected, reviewers have some terrific things to say about it. Its impressive 27-inch panel and top design make it one of the finest monitors you can pair with a Mac.
But is it worth its price tag? That depends who you ask. While some reviewers love Studio Display, others say its shortcomings stick out like a sore thumb. Here’s the review roundup.
It appears unlikely Apple will roll out any new products with mini-LED displays in 2022 because of concerns about cost, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a tweet Wednesday. That would include hoped-for updates to the 11-inch iPad Pro and the recently released Studio Display.
Kuo clarified that Cupertino’s existing mini-LED products, such as the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, may be updated this year.
LG’s popular UltraFine 5K monitor has been banished from the Apple Store following the launch of Apple’s own Studio Display. Both products offer very similar specifications, but LG’s — which isn’t quite as bright — is cheaper.
Apple is still selling the 23.7-inch LG UltraFine 4K display, which is a considerably more affordable alternative to the 27-inch options at under $700.
Apple’s next major refresh for Mac mini may not come until 2023, according to the latest claims from one analyst, who has proven reliable in the past.
Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities this week revised his predictions for the next-generation compact desktop, which he previously expected to see this year. It could now launch alongside the first Mac Pro with Apple silicon.
Along with the new Mac Studio desktop computer and Studio Display Apple rolled out on Tuesday, it launched swanky black-and-silver peripherals — Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse — that go well with the new gear.
They’re similar to options you can choose if you buy a pricey new Mac Pro. But now you can purchase them separately.
Do you have to pay a bit more than you would for the normal options sold a la carte? Yes. But of course you do.
We have been blessed to live in interesting times. For the first time since 2010, we have not just one, but two external monitors from Apple.
How does Apple’s latest offering — the Studio Display, introduced during Tuesday’s “Peek Performance” event — stack up against the high-end Pro Display XDR, the outgoing LG UltraFine 5K and the displays of other Macs?
Let’s dive in.
In 2010, Steve Jobs proudly proclaimed Apple had become a “mobile device company.” Tim Cook went further, dismissing anything that wasn’t a mobile device as a “hobby project.” It sounded like the Mac’s days were numbered. At Cult of Mac, we even ran a story on how to replace your Mac with an iPad.
How things have changed. With Tuesday’s launch of the Mac Studio, Apple completed the best Mac lineup we’ve seen in more than a decade. The new M1 Ultra chip offers unprecedented desktop performance. And longtime Mac fans will welcome the return of Apple’s Studio Display monitors.
The Mac is most definitely back. So what happened? Why did Cupertino fall out of love with the Mac, and what prompted the change of heart?
Apple is developing a more impressive version of its new Studio Display that will boast a mini-LED screen and ProMotion technology, according to one analyst. “Studio Display Pro” is reportedly set to make its debut this June.
There is some bad news for iMac fans, however. The rumored iMac Pro upgrade Apple was said to be planning for 2022 may not come at all now that the new Mac Studio and Studio Display have landed.
It requires a lot of bandwidth to drive the super-sharp 5K screen in Apple’s new Studio Display, and some devices just don’t cut it. Those hoping to use one with iPad Air will be disappointed to learn that a big upgrade is necessary.
Studio Display is only compatible with the fifth-generation iPad Air, announced during Apple’s big Peek Performance event on Tuesday. The fourth-generation model, released in October 2020, is left out in the cold — like iPad mini.