Apple Studio Display — I’m loving it!

I hit my 60th birthday earlier this year, and after over 45 years of staring at screens both at work and ‘play’, my already dodgy eyesight is not getting any better. When I returned to Prague in 2019, I bought a cheap Dell 24” monitor to sit alongside my work and personal laptops and used a hardware switch to flip between them. Back in the UK, I have been using a Dell P2719H 27” monitor which is a bit easier on my eyes, but still not ideal.

New Studio Display in my UK office set-up (photo from author)

                   

So, I’ve been looking at buying a new monitor for a while, and it has proved to be a really difficult decision. My needs appeared to be fairly simple, or so I thought:

• It needed to work in an exclusively Apple environment (no more Windows for me now I’ve retired!) with M1 Silicon
• I wanted a minimum of a 27” display with 4K resolution
• From a design perspective, it needed to look the part
• A few additional ports would be useful
• Good all-round display quality for photo-editing, writing and website design
• It needed to be delivered on my next trip to the UK — between June 26th and July 13th
• 
  

There were a few unknowns — did I like the idea of a curved monitor? Was a 34” screen overkill (and would it even fit on my desk?)? Would I keep the existing 27” Dell (which does have a portrait mode which I like for documents)?

I had a short list with 27–34” monitors from the usual suspects — Dell, Ben-Q, Samsung, LG and even Huawei. And the Studio Display from Apple. I watched dozens of YouTube videos and eventually ruled out the Huawei because even though I loved the design, I’d prefer to err on the safe side of data privacy. I also liked the Samsung M8 but decided I wanted a monitor, not an all singing, all dancing video box. My desk is quite constrained regarding worktop space, so I stopped looking beyond 27” and curved monitors. After watching more videos about the scaling issues with 4K and Apple, I was becoming more inclined to stay in the Dell stable and choose a U2719D UltraSharp 27 with 2560 x 1440 resolution. But there was a nagging doubt in my mind about whether I would regret not going for the outrageously expensive Studio Display and end up buying one in a year anyhow…

My trip to the UK was only going to last three weeks. Our local Apple store is in Leicester, and it looked like they had some base Studio Displays available for in-store collection, but by the time I got back to the UK, the cupboard was bare and would stay that way until August/September. A quick search indicated AO.com had the base model in stock for next-day delivery, so I bit the bullet and placed an order. AO.com came to my rescue when I wanted the 13” M1 MBP in a hurry last time I was. I knew they’d come up with the goods in the UK, and it was no more expensive than buying from Apple.

I was confident that the base model would be right for my needs. I use a Twelve South Curve Riser on my desk, so I figured I wouldn’t need the height adjustable stand; I’ve always been comfortable with the glossy screens on iMacs I’ve owned in the past, and I don’t have a monitor arm (or enough space on my current desk).

Despite watching various unboxing videos for the Studio Display, when it turned up on the doorstep the next day, I was taken aback at how big, and heavy the box was and was grateful I hadn’t decided to try and bring one home on the bus from Leicester! If you’ve watched any of the unboxing videos, you’ll know that this is an experience in its own right. A few minutes later, the display was on the stand and plugged directly into the 13” M1 MPB via the Thunderbolt port. I plugged my 2 SanDisk Extremes into the USB ports and my Quntis light bar into the third slot. Finally, I sorted out the power cable, booted up the laptop, and installed the Studio Display software update.

Quite simply, this is the best display I have ever used by a long way. Text is crystal clear even for my dodgy eyes. The speakers are so good that I’ve unplugged my old faithful Harmon Kardon Soundsticks II and now use the Studio Display speakers in conjunction with an original HomePod sat on the bookshelf behind me.

I’m not going to get involved in the discussion about the webcam. I like that there is one built in; quite frankly, it’s plenty good enough for my purposes. The first time I used it in anger was during a call with my financial advisor, where both myself and my fiancée could fit in the viewfinder without having to be sat on top of each other. Quite frankly, in these days of WFH, where many of my former colleagues had such poor internet connections that they turned their cameras off and often asked other participants to do the same thing, webcam quality is the least of my problems! It works, and it’s good enough.

I’ve been using a Twelve South Curve Riser as a monitor stand. It also serves to hide the Thunderbolt Hub and keep it cool. This proved a little too uncomfortable with the combined height of the Studio Display and the riser, but setting the monitor on the middle shelf fixed this problem perfectly. The hub now sits atop the monitor's base in the shelf space.

My big challenge is to figure out how to set up a dual display with the M1 13” MBP using both the Studio Display and the 27” Dell. I purchased the Hyper Dual 4K HDMI 10-in-1 USB-C Hub, but it arrived after I returned to Prague, so haven’t had a chance to set it up yet. The workaround has been to use the 27” Dell monitor on the M1 MacMini, and use universal control to make it look seamless, which works about 90% of the time, but needs a nudge from time to time. I suspect that the sleep settings were perhaps out of sync.

I also really, really need a bigger desk…and another Studio Display in my Prague office...

 

Apple Silicon - Round 2: Choosing a new laptop

A few weeks ago I wrote about my pre-empted first foray into using Apple Silicon. After eight months of using the M1 Mac mini (16Gb / 512Tb) as my primary machine, I am well and truly hooked. I hinted that I was going to swap out my 2017 15” MPB for a new M1 laptop and I have now made good on that decision. But before I spill the beans on what I eventually purchased I want to reflect on the decision making process.

Apple Harvest Prague office set-up

I’ve been using Macs since 2007 when I was finally driven out of the Windows stable. I was working in Oslo in Norway, and my personal laptop at the time was an ASUS R1F, one of the first machines that doubled as a laptop and tablet. The computer itself was fine and I really liked using it, but it was the time of Windows Vista and at one stage it seemed that every time I switched the computer on I had an hour’s worth of updates to deal with before I could do any work. 

I made the switch to a 15” MacBook Pro just after the release of OS X Leopard and have never looked back (that machine still boots up and works perfectly well!). Since then I’ve owned a couple of iMacs, a couple of MacBook Airs in addition to the current kit. I think carefully about every machine I buy. I think about my specific use case and do my research to align my purchases to my needs. Like most people, I set a budget to work with, although I’m fortunate enough that, as my own boss, I can be flexible within reason.

Since the newest 14 and 16 inch M1 laptops were announced I’ve seen countless questions from people asking complete strangers for advice on what to buy. For every question, I’ve seen dozens of useless answers and incorrect comments. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one does any real work anymore. Everyone who uses a MacBook seems to be doing professional video editing for a living and therefore need to buy the highest specification laptop regardless of how sensible that may be. Despite the numerous vloggers and tech reviewers reporting how even the basic M1 MBA, Mac mini and 13” MBP make video editing a relative breeze, the recommendations still come in to buy 16” M1 Max MBP with 32Gb of RAM and 2Tb SSDs regardless of how “over the top” this is for many people. 

I suspect that anyone recommending a minimum of 32Gb of memory still doesn’t understand that unified memory works in a different way to memory in an Intel architecture. I also suspect that most people who claim to be doing professional video editing perhaps make a few adjustments to their 30 second iPhone videos taken in the pub on a Saturday night and push them out on TikTok when they’ve sobered up sometime on Sunday afternoon. But mostly I suspect that many of the people recommending these high-level machines to everyone and his dog, don’t actually possess one, but make people think they do, by posing as an ‘authority’ on the subject. Basically, amongst the Facebook classes, buying a Mac has become something of a pissing contest! It reminds me of my slightly eccentric late uncle who used to buy top range HiFi equipment and then buy crappy 99p cover compilation albums from Woolworths!

Anyhow, this was my use case:

1. I’m potentially leaving Prague for good this year so I wanted to move the Mac mini and 2017 MBP back to the UK and get a single M1x laptop

2. The laptop will normally be used as a desktop, and there are already Thunderbolt 3 and other hubs in place so no need for lots of extra ports, and there is a Dell 24” monitor in place to act as the primary display

3. When the laptop does get used as a laptop I want it to be small, light and usable on aeroplane and train tables. I already have a variety of multi-port dongles

4. The specification only needs to be as good as the M1 Mac mini, since the work I’m doing will be the same - although a larger SSD might not be a bad thing as my photos library continues to grow and I’d prefer it not to live on an external drive

5. I’d still like the Touch Bar because I do use it and will continue to use it and maybe will use it even more than I currently do

6. The delivery date needed to be before 12th March at the very latest to align with my travel plans

When I looked at the best options I really have three choices - an M1 MBA, an M1 MBP 13” or the 14” MBP M1 Pro. I know I don’t need the power or ports on the 14” although it does provide a better display. The MBA doesn’t have the ToolBar, so by default I opted for the 13” MBP, but I decided to go for the 1Tb SSD option.

Fate has a habit of disrupting plans, however. I finally made my decision whilst in the airport waiting for my flight back to the UK. The Mac mini was in my hold baggage and I’d adjusted my office set-up in Prague to accommodate a new laptop. The delivery date for my option was the next day, so it would be in Derby sometime on Saturday. 

By the time I arrived home and was ready to submit the order, the delivery date for all non-standard builds from Apple was in three weeks' time - a week after my return to Prague. Checking around, the story was the same everywhere - no one could deliver the 1Tb option before the 12th March - my drop-dead deadline. Eventually, I found a supplier who could deliver by the 8th March but only the 2TB option so I decided to go with this rather than face having to take the Mac mini back to Prague. It’s more than I intended to spend but sometimes you have to take what’s on offer. And before you start telling me that for £200 more I could have got a 14” MBP with a 2Tb drive, those weren’t shipping until even later in March. Other folks may be thinking that I should have waited until the Apple Peek Performance event but let’s face it, there’s no guarantee of what may be revealed at that session or when these models may be shipped. 

The nature of the computer/tech business is such that every piece of kit is liable to be superseded within days of us purchasing it. We just need to accept that inevitability and teach ourselves that buyer’s remorse is equally futile. I know that when my new laptop arrives, I shall have addressed my needs for now and the next few years. 

UPDATE: Since I first drafted this piece, the new laptop has arrived and is all set up and running perfectly. In the end, it didn’t arrive as expected but a day later - it took DPD 24 hours to ship the box from their Birmingham depot to the one in Leicester (about 40miles up the road!). I’ve had stuff arrive from Shanghai in less time! And since the rumours of the M2 13” MPB were completely scotched at the event I feel totally vindicated in my decision.