Is it still worth buying?

Last year I reviewed the ViewFinity S9, Samsung’s 5K monitor that competes directly with Apple’s Studio Display. In my own words, “the ViewFinity S9’s big selling point is price.” But what about the Studio Display? Is it still a good monitor two years after its launch? Is it worth the price? That’s what I’ve been trying to find out for the last few months.

Well, as I’ve just said, Studio Display is not a new product. Apple introduced it in March 2022 along with the first Mac Studio as an alternative for those who missed something to replace the discontinued 27-inch iMac. After trying Samsung’s 5K monitor, I decided it was finally time to give Apple’s Studio Display a try, even though it’s not a new product.

By now, you’re probably familiar with at least some of the tech specs of Apple’s Studio Display. While I recap them, I’ll also explore whether it’s still worth buying one in 2025.

The perfect external Retina Display for your Mac

If you’re like me, there’s no going back after using a Mac with a Retina display. I’m not just talking about brightness and colors, but also pixel density. Everything looks super sharp and is a pleasure to look at. I explained a bit about pixel scaling in my ViewFinity S9 review:

For context, I currently use a 27-inch 4K monitor from LG. The 4K resolution is noticeably better than 1080p for me, but at 27 inches, I can definitely see that the display isn’t as sharp as my Mac’s display – at least not at optimal settings. That’s because Apple’s Retina displays use HiDPI (High Dots Per Inch) to double the scale of the interface, making everything super sharp.

With a 5K display, macOS can render the 2560×1440 interface at 2x, taking advantage of the full 5120×2880 resolution at 218 pixels per inch. With my 27-inch 4K display, I either get a scale with larger elements (which makes me lose space for windows) or I lose sharpness at a lower HiDPI.

That’s why the Apple Studio Display has 5K resolution.

Studio Display’s 5K panel can reach up to 600 nits of brightness, which is enough for most environments. My old 4K monitor was limited to 350 nits, so the difference here is quite noticeable. However, there are some aspects in which Studio Display could be better.

Unlike the more expensive Pro Display XDR, which has local dimming to adjust the brightness in specific areas of the screen, Studio Display has an LED-backlit LCD panel. Although the contrast is better than on most LCD monitors, Studio Display doesn’t show real blacks. In fact, it doesn’t support HDR either – something that almost every iPhone and iPad does nowadays.

For some people, the fact that the Studio Display is limited to 60Hz is also a drawback. Personally, I don’t mind that much – and my MacBook Pro connected to it has a 120Hz display. Of course, I agree that a future version of Studio Display should support a 120Hz refresh rate.

What makes Apple’s Studio Display different

At the same time, Studio Display has some unique features that make me love it, starting with its build quality. Samsung’s ViewFinity S9 has an excellent 5K panel, and it’s very similar to the one from Apple. However, Studio Display’s build quality is undeniably better.

Using a Studio Display is like using a Mac. The monitor is entirely made of metal instead of plastic, which makes its design much more elegant and robust. It’s great not to have a monitor that wobbles every time I hit my desk. Samsung tried to fix this by adding a metal base to its plastic monitor, but it wasn’t enough. I can adjust the angle of the Studio Display with just one finger and it remains steady without wobbling.

The shiny glass cover also makes a huge difference to me. I’m not a fan of matte screens as I prioritize color accuracy. Although Studio Display has a more expensive version with a matte screen (known as nano-texture), the base model comes with a glossy screen. Honestly, I think this makes it look even more premium.

But there’s another aspect in which Studio Display is unbeatable, and that’s sound quality. I’ve never used a monitor with built-in speakers as good as those from Apple. Studio Display has six speakers capable of reproducing Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. The sound is probably more immersive than what comes from my TV by default. There’s simply no competition here.

The three USB-C ports on the back are a great addition, so you can use the monitor as a Dock. Since it connects to your Mac via a single Thunderbolt cable that can also power MacBooks, it also makes your desk look cleaner.

As a bonus, the Studio Display also comes with microphones and a built-in camera. The microphones are decent and the webcam isn’t the best (it was heavily criticized when Apple launched the Studio Display). A better webcam in a future version would be a welcome change.

Do I regret buying one? Is it worth buying?

After all, is it still worth buying a Studio Display? Well, it really depends on your needs and what you expect from an external monitor.

At $1,599 in its base version without the height-adjustable stand ($1,379 at Amazon), Studio Display is certainly an expensive product. At the same time, there’s almost no competition for it. You can find OLED monitors with deeper blacks or monitors with higher refresh rates than the Studio Display, but none of them have the same build quality and excellent speakers as the Studio Display.

If you just want a 5K monitor for a true HiDPI experience with macOS, there are good options like Samsung’s ViewFinity S9 and the recently announced Asus ProArt 5K Display. But if you really care about having a monitor that truly complements your Mac in every other respect (and if you can afford it), Studio Display is the right choice.

I don’t regret buying a Studio Display in 2025, even with the chance of Apple introducing a new model in the next few months or year. It was expensive and it could be a better product in some ways, but it was the only one that really fulfilled all my needs for an external monitor.

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