The gateway to Apple’s ecosystem can be steep, from the top-tier MacBooks to the monitor stands, especially in their creative department. But, if you’re a content creator, owning one of these displays can give you the best color reproduction, optimized system, and value down the road.

Focusing on the Studio Display, it’s nothing as extravagant as the Pro Display XDR. The new display comes with 5k 218 PPI instead of 6K 218PPI, 600 nits peak brightness instead of 1600, and a smaller form factor. So, what gives? What makes this unique? Is it even worth it?

We believe it is worth it, especially if you’re trying to get into the Apple Ecosystem, display-wise. The 27-inch form factor is much more manageable than the humongous 32-inch display. What about the downgrade to 5K. Well, yeah, it’s not 6K. Still, most machines are capable of running 5K without turning on jet engines, and even if you’re sacrificing some resolution, you’re getting the same pixel performance. So, the slight dip in resolution is no biggie. 

Other than the smaller form factor, the peak brightness, and the resolution, there’s no difference between the Studio Display and the Pro Display XDR, or is there? There is; inside the display, there’s an A13 Bionic chip. You might be wondering, what the heck is a phone chip doing inside a display? 

The A13 chip is powering a lot of things, to say the least. It packs more punch than an Apple TV 4K, reaching almost the same height as an iPad in terms of power. Moreover, the chip is powering the 12-megapixel camera on the new display, the spatial audio, and the center stage feature. This is the first Apple display to feature a camera with center stage capabilities. Now, you’re getting the same image signal processing you love from Apple Silicon on this display. 

So how does it benefit you? Besides having an excellent webcam powered by Apple Silicone, this chip takes care of all this image processing, freeing up the neural engine to process more essential tasks.

Let’s say you’re sold on this new Studio Display; you’re getting ready to swipe out that credit card. But you ask yourself, who’s it for? Well, the studio display starts at 1599. For that price, you’re getting a lot from Apple. Yes, there are displays with similar specs for less, much less. Take the LG 5K Ultrafine Monitor, for example, the exact specs on paper, but for less. However, the point is if you want to get into the creative side of the Apple Ecosystem without losing an arm and a leg, the Studio Display is a great choice. 

You’re getting all the great features, Apple’s fantastic display tech, a separate processor for the webcam, and a great monitor for the price. Also, seeing as how podcasts, online meetings, and streaming is at peak popularity these days, what does having this webcam mean? It means no low-tier online meetings, no need to break your bank over cameras and capture cards, you’re getting the center stage and an excellent webcam experience straight from the monitor. The streaming sites don’t use all the bandwidth you’re sending anyways. 

To answer the question of whether it’s worth it or not, our answer is yes, it’s worth it. If you’re a content creator, a professional who needs accurate color reproduction, a great panel, and if you want to get into Apple’s ecosystem, this is the monitor for you; the feature to price ratio is amazing, to say the least.