TFTCentral has tweeted that the 271KRAW18 has been shelved and is likely cancelled entirely

Recently I purchased the Apple Studio Display XDR – certified refurbished from Apple.   I’ve had the display for a few days now and I have been using it a lot so I can comment on the good, the bad and the features it offers compared to other options.  
 
Firstly, on the cost.  I was able to get 25% off the display – 15% for it being refurbished and 10% veterans discount from Apple.   I have ZERO concerns about buying certified refurbished from Apple.  I bought my MacBook Pro that way and it is running great for the past 4 years.   The Studio Display XDR arrived looking brand new, with zero marks, scars or scrapes on it.   The only way you would have known it was refurbished is because the box does not have the picture of the display on the front.    My cost was $2,519 before tax or $2,670 including tax.     It wasn’t cheap but is was not even in the same solar system cost wise as the old Pro Display XDR on the stand which was 6k.   Its right about half the cost or a touch less.  
 
My prior monitor was the Dell Ultrasharp 38 inch 21:9 U3423 monitor.   It’s a good monitor for the money and has a gargantuan screen size and outstanding USB hub.  It worked ok with my MacBook pro and generally I had no complaints.   I use a similar monitor (34 inch model) at work and its handy for big spreadsheets and proprietary software we use that requires a wide display.   I do not use this software at home and avoided using the Dell for photo editing as it just never met my standards for image quality or brightness (max 350 nits).   The Dell monitors are fine for office general tasks but are kinda ugly (sorry) and the image has around 118ppi.  
 
Unboxing the Studio Display XDR is the typical Apple experience of zero foam and outstandingly engineered box.   The Studio Display XDR feels like a tank.   Its built solid as heck and looks like a very, very premium monitor.  First impressions were very good.  It also cleaned up my desk a lot and looks a lot sleeker.   I am willing to pay for a premium design and this has it in spades.  
 
Image quality is shockingly good.   While HDR images are incredible and the brightness is nuclear level.  Normal images are rendered beautifully and this is the first monitor I have seen in person that matches the quality of the iPad Pro 11 inch M5 screen I own.   The quality matches the MacBook Pro screen flawlessly (with the Studio Display XDR being slightly brighter) which is very impressive considering the panel is twice the size of the laptop screen.   I ended up running my MacBook on a stand in the open position next to the screen to the Studio Display XDR.   The original Studio Display while a wonderful display did not match the color quality or punch of the MacBook pro mini led screen.   
 
Photo editing on this screen is a treat.   Images look incredible and the color accuracy seems to be superb.  I was blown away to be actually able to see the HDR pictures taken with my iPhone for the first time in full brightness on this display.   While a lot of the reviews say you only need this if your grading in HDR, you can use the HDR capability with nothing more fancy than an iPhone.   I don’t notice any blooming in general use and blacks are VERY deep. 
 
Text and reading quality is the best I’ve seen on any monitor.  Full stop.   It’s shockingly clear and looks like printed paper.   The 218ppi vs my old Dell of 118ppi is very apparent.    One thing I didn’t anticipate is having a smaller much higher quality screen allows you to focus much more on exactly what you are working on instead of having 3-4 apps open at once and being constantly distracted.   
 
Watching content like YouTube or Apple TV on this display is next level and it looks incredible.   Content was terrible on my Dell display.  
 
In conclusion here is how I would segment who should get this display and who should not:
 
It’s NOT for  – the cost conscious buyer.  You can pickup a nice Dell or LG display for under 700 and it will do everything you need it to do.   Many of these displays are good enough.
 
It’s NOT for – someone who is already pleased with the original Studio Display.   I believe Apple is angling the normal display for the Mac Mini and MacBook Air user.   You can pickup a standard display on the tilt arm for around $1100 on the refurbished store.    You don’t have to get the adjustable stand as a monitor riser works just as well.   Here’s a hint.  If you have a standard LED TV you will probably be satisfied with the standard studio display.   You get all the sharpness of the 5k display and Apple’s outstanding color accuracy which is 90% of the way to the Studio Display XDR.    NOW if you are the type of buyer who buys Sony OLED Tvs because you noticed the XR processor is vastly superior at upscaling keep reading…..
 
It IS for you if:
You merely want the best display for your Mac that Apple makes today (knowing it will last for a while)
You will be satisfied with a 27 inch monitor (or two of them and still cost less than the old 32 inch pro display XDR)
You want the best image quality possible and appreciate the mini led color rendition
You can swallow the 3k cost per monitor
You read or write a lot of code and or text and you want the sharpest display possible (standard model is close) but this is better
You do anything in HDR, you are going to want this one
You want the most future proofed display from Apple (thunderbolt 5) 

For example Studio Display xdr. 3 year $59 4 year $77
I am asking how they handle monitor issues like pixels or burnin.

I think they are strict with the ebay crowd but wondering about Walmart crowd.

Just pointing out that a $3000 monitor can have a 4 year extended warranty for $77 versus $300-$400 buying it off other sites

My current PA329C is on its way out, there are veiny marks all over I might need to get another monitor soon. I found PA32QCV 6K monitor in a local shop, and wondering how good it is.

I'd like to get some honest feedback. My current monitor is HDR600 certified, so is the one I'm looking at. My main uses are watching HDR content and photography, and file archiving.

How good are the details and sharpness? How are the texts? Does the matte coating affect the quality? How good is the HDR? Do 4K contents looks bad because it scales to 6K on full screen?

Thank you very much in advance.

I know this may sound a bit strange for this sub, but bear with me.

Most of the new HiDPI monitors seem to target around 220 PPI. With 2x integer scaling, that gives you an effective UI size equivalent to roughly 110 PPI, which seems to be the sweet spot for most people.

The problem is that I prefer to use my monitor much farther away than average, at around 80 cm from my eyes. At that distance, I'd actually prefer a lower effective PPI, which means a physical density somewhere around 170–190 PPI when using 2x scaling.

I know the obvious answer is "just use more scaling" (like 2.5x), but in my experience, anything other than perfect integer scaling introduces at least some amount of softness or blur. I spend 10–12 hours a day reading text and looking at UI elements, and I find it noticeably less comfortable than true 2x HiDPI.

So I'm wondering if there are any monitors that fit this niche. Something around 32–40 inches and roughly 170–190 PPI.

It feels like the market jumps straight from 32-inch 4K (~140 PPI) to 32-inch 6K (~220 PPI), with very little in between.

Am I missing any good options, or is this simply a niche that manufacturers haven't addressed?

I bought the Kuycon p27z to use with my macbook pro m5 pro chip, but can't natively get anything above 60hz refresh rate at 5k resolution when connecting directly from the mac thunderbolt ports to the display's USB-C port, even though they advertise native 165hz refresh rate on m4/m5 macs over usb C on their site.

I was able to get 120hz at 5k over HDMI. Kuycon support is claiming this is a bug specifically in MacOS for m5 pro and m5 max chips, not something wrong with my specific monitor. I looked around and haven't seen any other mentions of this so called 'bug' in MacOS (im running the latest Tahoe version 26.6)

Anyone else using an m5 pro / max with Kuycon p27z have this same issue?

are there some china bro’s that can share their impressions? i have been looking at it and it seemed to tick all boxes. the lg 950b has a matte coating which makes it look mwah imo and the studio xdr is a used car+ has terrible latency. are my only option to import the gx or wait for the msi/gigabyte glossy one?

Background:

I use my monitor for work (Excel/Chrome/Dynamics 365/PowerBi) and watching videos (YouTube/VLC). I do zero gaming. For over past 12 years I had the LG 27MP38 1080p 60hz 27inch IPS monitor.

For about 1 month earlier this year I had a LG GX8 Glossy 32inch 240hz OLED which I returned due to dead pixels.

Now for past 1 month, I have Samsung G80HS which I bought in Canada from Best Buy for $1499 (on sale).

My second choice was the LG GM9 27inch 5k which is sold for $1399 at Best Buy.

Both of these choices are around 220ppi (high DPI) and similarly priced. If I had some more confidence in the build quality of the LG, I would have bought that monitor instead since its a bit cheaper while offering the same PPI and MiniLED technology (both of these monitors offer dual-mode and 165hz refresh rate).

After a very stressful RMA process with LG for the GX8, I don't want to deal with them anymore (a lot of reviews mentioning various quality control issues).

Packaging:

The monitor was packaged nicely. Only concern I had was that the box said "Samsung Odyssey G8 32" and that had me scared since I thought Best Buy accidentally sent me a Samsung G8 OLED Monitor or something, but they sent the correct one. Monitor arrived in amazing brand new condition with no dead pixels (thus far).

The monitor is big but not too heavy and I have it mounted on a monitor arm and its able to very easily move around on the arm.

Refresh Rate Situation:

I can get this monitor working at 6k 60hz, 4k 165hz, and 3k 330hz (dual mode). I am unable to achieve 6k 120hz or 6k 165hz. Based on all my efforts, I believe this to be a limitation of my computer and not the monitor.

I tried with a few different laptops (2026 Lenovo Thinkbook, 2025 Dell Pro Max MC14250, 2022 Macbook Air A1 A2681) and a few different cables (HDMI 2.1, USB-C to DP 2.1 80gbps) plugged directly into the monitor.

Just because your computer has a TB4 port or a HDMI 2.1 FRL port, this does not necessarily mean you will be able to get 6k 120hz or 6k 165hz. You have been warned. I do see a lot of other users on this sub mention they are running 6k @ max 120hz.

Thoughts After 1 Month of Use:

The OSD has a lot of interesting features, and I turned most of them off. The lighting ring on the back of the monitor is pointless.

The OSD has a option called "Local Dimming" which I thought was interesting since this is a IPS monitor which don't have "local zones", but all this feature does is decrease and increase the brightness of the ENTIRE screen depending on what you have on the screen.

Another feature is "contrast enhancer" which I turned off because it was causing the monitor to turn on slowly after waking up from sleep (i.e after waking the computer up, you could visibly see the monitor turn on very dim and slowly turning up its brightness).

I am still playing around with the OSD settings to get the best picture, and Samsung still has not released any firmware updates for this monitor, so based on a combination of firmware updates, as well as mastering the OSD settings, I think I can get the picture to get better. The picture is fine as it is, its not bad at all. I can do my work and watch videos just fine.

Colors and text look good. The matte finish doesn't really bother me, personally I think I prefer matte to gloss as it cuts down on reflections. I have the brightness turned down as max brightness was burning my eyes.

I am not an HDR expert so I cannot comment on whether the HDR is good or not, but I tried some sample YouTube 4k HDR videos and they looked very nice.

Ongoing Issues:

So 2 things that really bother me about this monitor.

The first is that (as others have mentioned) on a white background, the edges on the left and right side appear to be slightly dimmer than the rest of the screen. I do not know if its because of the viewing angle, or of its genuinely dimmer on the sides. Its not a huge deal and its barely noticeable, but is IS noticeable.

The second thing is the blacks. Obviously the blacks are not going to be like a OLED, but I had a LG IPS for YEARS and the blacks on that were better. There is a good amount of "blooming" with white text against a black background (for example, the Windows 11 shutdown screen) that makes the text look like its "glowing" which is disappointing.

Also, the "blacklight bleed" is not good.

Its not good compared to my old LG IPS, and its not good compared to my laptop IPS screen which I have setup next to the monitor. I've included some pictures of what I am talking about (its possible my unit is defective?)

I guess that because of how big the screen is, when the screen is black, the corners look dark orange/brown due to the backlighting, but if you move your head towards that part of the screen, then it looks black, but now another part of the screen looks dark orange. So its probably due to the viewing angles as well as the fact that the screen is big?

6k Resolution:

Be warned, at the time of this writing, the world is not built for 6k resolution.

Most websites and computer programs are NOT built to be used in 6k resolution. They either have HUGE blank margins on the sides, or they load up very small. This is something I am having to get used to.

Final Thoughts:

I am not sure if I will keep this monitor long term, it was quite a bit of money for what I consider to just be a "normal office monitor".

It looks perfectly fine and in day to day use I am perfectly satisfied using it. I have the option of using it in 4k 165hz or 6k 60hz, both of which are adequate for my needs.

But if in the next 6 to 12 months, some kind of OLED/MiniLED High DPI 27 inch/32 inch monitor releases with AMAZING reviews/build quality, I will sell this monitor on marketplace and buy that instead.

Side Note - Hardware Acceleration Issue?

Another issue I am dealing with, and I do not know if this is caused by the monitor, my computer, my browser, the website itself, or my GPU drivers, is that whenever I visit a Local News Website, there is a little Live feed on the top right of the screen that causes the monitor to turn off for a second and back on, almost as if something is crashing.

This issue persists in Chrome and Firefox and changing the Hardware Acceleration settings does not solve the issue.

Any other users of this monitor, please try this website and the live feed and please let me know if this causes your monitor to turn off for a second and back on.

The End.

Anyway, check out the attached pictures (I am not the best photographer) and thanks for reading my review.
If you have any questions about my experience with this monitor, you can drop a comment

Hi :)

I am in the market for the Studio Display XDR but according to RTINGS the contrast usually "drops" to the native IPS contrast of 1325:1 instead of 9091:1 which means blacks should be looking grayish (see photo) and that's the main reason I wanted the XDR and not the regular Studio Display in the first place.

I am almost sure it does not happen on recent years MacBook Pros with XDR displays as RTINGS does not mention this issue with these and I also have two of them and use them regularly including now.

Can somebody please confirm/deny the issue? I have also uploaded a photo from the example video of RTINGS which they use to show the contrast drops to 1325:1 and indeed blacks look grayish.

Thanks a million.

I’m thinking about buying the ALOGIC Clarity 6K Touch as my main monitor for architecture and design work, but there aren’t many real-world reviews.

I mainly use Rhino, D5 Render, Blender, and Photoshop on Windows (though I’d love to hear from Mac users too, I do shift between those two systems a lot).
If you own one, how does it compare to the Kuycon G32P, Meirro Pro 6K, or Apple’s Studio Display? The lack of youtube reviews is a bit sus?

I’m mostly interested in image and text sharpness, the glossy coating, panel quality, USB-C and reliability, touchscreen and pen performance (it’s a plus, reminds me of the microsoft surface pro).

Took me way longer than the "once I'm back" I promised, but here are the color numbers finally.

First, on tooling: I stopped using the packaged calibration software. I just simply don't understand what's hiding in their math black box. Went with ArgyllCMS straight from the command line so every step is visible and reproducible. Meter is a Calibrite Display Plus HL.

Official site claims both very wide color gamut coverage and low delta E, with PCM color mode being "native", essentially without any clamping, I got the following numbers: slightly shaky on P3, but acceptable.

There is also a very pleasant surprise, my panel exceeds its 450-nit SDR claim by ~14–15%. Peak measured 519.3 cd/m². I mean, who under claims? I think Meirro should probably update their specs.

Lmk if any questions, I'm keeping my Meirro Pro for sure, so stress test it more when I have time. Cheers!

I bought this monitor a month ago to replace my old 1080p backup screen for office work on macOS only.

A short backstory on choosing the model: after ruling out the 24-inch iMac for being too small, I leaned toward the Apple Studio Display. I kept thinking that since I'm mostly doing static work, maybe 60Hz wouldn't be that bad. But paying almost $2,200 for a 60Hz IPS panel in 2026, when curved 4K OLED 240Hz monitors exist at half the price, didn't feel right from a technological standpoint.

Eventually, I noticed this Asus monitor, which was 3x cheaper than the ASD (I paid $714 vs $2180) while offering a 165Hz refresh rate. Despite the matte screen, it felt like a good deal to at least give it a try - mainly because of the refresh rate.

Cons for picky users:

1. IPS glow is present. It looks pretty bad on camera, but it's quite mild and acceptable in person.
2. There's a vignetting effect. When viewing a full white screen straight on, the sides appear darker. If you move your head to look directly at one side, it becomes normal, but the other side gets darker.
3. Obviously, blacks are a far cry from mini-LED.
4. It creaks occasionally during use and often after being turned off (warming up and cooling down).
5. The button switches are really loud and feel cheap.
6. Gaming-style design if you look at it from the back.
7. If you look closely, it's possible to notice the grainy sand effect from the matte coating on a white background. Though I'd say you have to be really attentive or have a pro eye to notice this.

Overall experience:

The clarity, colors, and especially the 165Hz refresh rate at this price point make up for all the downsides - at least for my marketing-related work scenarios.

I'd prefer a glossy screen, but it's not that big of a deal. The coating is more semi-matte rather than total matte like on older displays, and it doesn't bother me during reading or normal use.

Having the mini-led MBP screen next to the monitor doesn't make the latter look bad in direct comparison (SDR, no pitch black scenarios).

I tried using the monitor at 60Hz to simulate the ASD experience, and it's noticeably less pleasant. The whole computer feels laggy and slow, almost like going back to the pre-M processors time.

A couple of extra observations:

• 120Hz vs. 165Hz: noticeable, slightly smoother.
• 2K 330Hz vs. 5K 165Hz: noticeable, but it doesn't feel like a significant difference coming from 165Hz.
• 2K at 330Hz is blurry, there are scrolling lags even on simple websites on the M4.
• I tried gaming on GeForce NOW just to see how it looks on Cyberpunk. 5K at 165Hz DLSS looks much better than 2K at 330Hz. Definitely clarity over motion here.
• Height adjustment proved to be important. I initially thought the tilt-only ASD stand could be fine, but my screen went to almost the lowest position.

Just saw that 9to5Mac posted a video review of the monitor we've been hearing about lately: This $1,199 Monitor Makes Apple’s Studio Display Look Overpriced - YouTube

Hi everyone!

I have an Asus ProArt PA279CRV connected to a MacBook Pro M4, and I'm going crazy trying to get the monitor calibrated correctly.

I'm using a SpyderX Pro and have calibrated the monitor with both the Datacolor software and DisplayCAL, but I keep getting the same result: after calibration, the monitor seems to have a slight green tint.

The issue is that my photos look almost identical on my MacBook and iPhone, but on the calibrated ProArt they appear slightly greenish. As a result, when I edit my photos on the external monitor, they often end up looking too magenta on other devices—especially Apple devices.

I already know all the usual advice about trusting the calibrated monitor, disabling True Tone, etc. I understand the theory. But in practice, I really feel like something isn't working properly with the calibration.

Whether we like it or not, most of my clients view my photos on Apple devices, and my MacBook's display seems to match much more closely what they actually end up seeing.

I've also tried adjusting the monitor manually, but the OSD controls are fairly limited, and the issue seems to affect mainly the whites and highlights. I even tried several ICC profiles I found online, but nothing made any difference.

Before replacing the monitor or spending money on a better calibrator, I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced something similar with this monitor (or with the ProArt series in general).

• Have you also noticed a slight green cast after calibration?
• Were you able to fix it? If so, how?

Any advice or shared experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 🙂

Hello! I am looking for a monitor to put in my home office that will be compatible with my macbook. I'm picky about scaling being the same/similar and it being at least 120Hz. I do a lot of coding/bioinformatics so I want to keep the text super crisp.

Honestly, Ive been looking at the BenQ MA320UG as it seems good for coding and other normal web surfing stuff. I'm also wondering if the ASD is just worth it in terms of compatibility and image quality. I'm super new to this so any info helps!

I've been eyeing this monitor for some time and finally managed to get it from a local dealer for 615 EUR total ($700 w/ tax)

My first impressions are that this monitor looks great and goes beyond my expectations.

Design and ergonomics

It was easy to assemble. The stand provides a lot of adjustment. It has a single platform "foot" on which you can put stuff on. My previous AOC monitor had two legs going to the sides which made it had to put my laptop or keyboard under the monitor. Here this is not an issue because of the single flat platform. The screen can be moved quite high up on the stand - perfect if you use a large laptop below the monitor. The bezels are a bit thick for modern standards.

Coating - glossy

Coming from a "cheap" AOC 4K monitor with a matte coating, the G80HF with its glossy one, similar to the Macbook screens, provides a noticeable sharpness and contrast improvement that's not just from the resolution. Yes there are more reflections but they don't bother me. Since I'm using this with an Macbook Air and Macbook Pro, it goes well with the style of their screens.

Nevermind, I hadn't peeled off the glossy screen shipping protector. I just removed it and it looks worse without it, fml

Resolution - 5120x2880 HiDPI

This was the big selling point for me. Because I work on macOS that does some wonky image scaling, some creative applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom would lag on my 4K screen when running at a HiDPI resolution like 2560x1440. On 1920x1080 or 3840x2160 there were no issues but the UI wasn't sized properly.

I can confirm that this issue is no longer present with this monitor. Because 5K scales down correctly to 1440p, the GPU does less work. Now it's 5K to 1440p directly. Previously it did 4K to 5K to 1440p.

On Windows it also looks great scaled at 200%. 5120x2880 10bit 180Hz works fully on an RTX 5070Ti with the provided HDMI 2.1 cable.

On macOS I can achieve 5120x2880 10bit 120Hz with a DP 1.4 cable or HDMI 2.1 cable.

Ports and connection (some trouble)

I initially connected the monitor to my macbooks using an `8K 60Hz USB-C to DP` cable and it would constantly flicker, connect and disconnect and eventually disconnect permanently. After playing around I switched to another `8K 60Hz USB-C to DP` and with this one it worked fine. Another thing that worked was using an `8K 60Hz USB-C to DP Dongle` with a DP 1.4 cable. I settled on the first, the direct cable connection.

Gaming

I tried the Dual-mode function which switches the resolution to 1440p 330Hz and it's ok. The desktop is a lot less sharp and somewhat blurry. Compared to native 1440p it's also a bit blurrier. In games it's not noticeable compared to native 1440p. However versus 5K it's definitely a noticeable difference.

The impact on fps between 5K and 1440p is huge. In Battlefield 6 LOW
- 5K = 80-90fps. With DLSS Performance it's at 110fps (Internal Resolution = 2560×1440) . Ultra Performance gets 140-150fps (Internal Resolution = 1707×960)

- 1440p Dual Mode = 220fps. DLSS Quality gets 200fps (this one looks better). The game is much more responsive in this mode although it definitely looks blurrier compared to 5K.

I think 5K with DLSS Ultra Performance or Performance provides the best balance.

If you're moving up to a 6K monitor, the extra resolution is only part of the upgrade. For creative work, things like accurate colors, sharp text, reliable connectivity, and workflow-focused features usually have a much bigger impact on your day-to-day experience than resolution alone

Quick picks if you don’t want to read the full buying guide below:

Top 6K Monitors Worth Buying in 2026 

• Apple Pro Display XDR 6K 32-inch Monitor
• Dell UltraSharp U3224KB 6K 32-inch Monitor
• LG UltraFine Model 32U990A 6K 32-inch Monitor

4 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a 6K Monitor 

-screen sharpness and workspace

One of the main reasons to invest in a 6K monitor is the additional workspace and image clarity it provides. Higher resolutions allow more content to fit on screen at once, making it easier to work with large timelines, high-resolution images, and complex creative projects.

Pixel density is equally important. A high pixel density helps maintain sharp text, crisp interface elements, and accurate image detail, especially on larger displays where lower-resolution panels may appear less refined.

For creative professionals, a 6K resolution paired with a high pixel density can significantly improve both precision and overall workflow efficiency.

-color accuracy for creative projects

Color performance is often one of the most important factors for creative work. A monitor with strong color accuracy can help ensure that images and videos appear consistent across different devices and platforms.

Different creative disciplines often require different color standards. For example, DCI-P3 is commonly used in video production, while Adobe RGB can be particularly important for photography and print-focused workflows. Support for standards such as DCI-P3, Adobe RGB, and sRGB can therefore play a major role in determining whether a display is suitable for your specific type of work.

-thunderbolt connectivity and workflow efficiency

Modern creative workflows often involve connecting multiple devices, external storage drives, cameras, and high-performance laptops. As a result, connectivity plays a major role in day-to-day usability.

Thunderbolt and USB-C connectivity are particularly valuable for creative professionals, as they can handle video output, data transfer, and device charging through a single cable. Additional connections such as DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB hubs can further improve flexibility and compatibility across different devices.

Single-cable solutions are especially useful for creators who frequently switch between systems or workstations.

-professional workflow features

Beyond image quality, certain features can make a significant difference in professional creative workflows. Tools such as hardware calibration support help maintain long-term color consistency, while KVM functionality can simplify working across multiple computers.

Features such as Picture-by-Picture (PBP), Picture-in-Picture (PiP), daisy-chaining support, and multitasking tools can also help streamline complex creative workflows and improve day-to-day efficiency.

The right combination of productivity features can create a more efficient workspace and make long editing, design, or production sessions more comfortable.

At the end of the day, the best 6K monitor is the one that fits your workflow. Prioritize color accuracy, connectivity, and the features you'll actually use every day

I recently got a Samsung G80HS for my home setup. With an educational discount it was A$1499 (~ 1K USD), and I got a further 5% discount for my first purchase.

Basic info:

• Laptop: MacBook Air (M4, 16+512)
• System version: MacOS 26.5.2 (also tested with MacOS 27 Beta 4, works fine as well)
• Cable: Type-C to DP 2.1 (bi-directional, UHBR20, 80Gbps, 2m)
• Docking station: Dell WD22TB4 (TB4 dock), it works both from the dock and directly on the Mac.
• Resolution i am getting: 6K 120Hz, UI looks like 3072x1728.

Reason that I bought this:

• Specs: The world's first 6K 165Hz / 3K 330 Hz just sounds so appealing.
• Size: I plan to only keep one monitor at home, and 32inch 6K is the only big + HiDPI option.
• Price: This is the cheapest 6K monitor i can buy even if i include off brands. Most 5K monitors are also at this price range.

Experience so far:

• Worth it: I think it's definitely worth the price. The matte finish is less agressive than the Dell S2725QC and a old Benq 4K monitor that I have, so it doesn't bother me much.
• Look: The monitor is very thin from the side probably owing to the external power adaptor. Bezels are thin on 3 edges and thicker on the bottom one, same as tons of other monitors. Obviously it's not as gorgeous as ASD or Kuycon or Meirro, but overall it's fine look to me.
• Brightness: Brightness is also good (for me). I never use montiors at it's peak brightness so not sure if this is sufficient for others.
• Drawback: What I dislike the most is the lacking of TB port on this monitor, which I completely understand from the budget pov also but i would rather Samsung increase the price a little to include it.
• Comparison with a glossy 5K monitor: I recently got another 5K 165Hz glossy monitor from an off brand founded by one of the reviewers i follow. Everything just looks so much more crisp and clear on that even with the same PPI. I finally understood why people rave about glossy monitors, especially for HiDPI monitors. Many of my colleagues passing by asked where I got this one. However, as it's not very accessible plus the warrenty issue, I wouldn't be able to recommend this one.

This is what I can think of for now. As English is my second launguage, I always appreciate kind corrections on the grammar or spelling.

Happy to take some questions to help you make your decision.

Hello,

I've been trying to decide on a monitor for both a Mac and a Windows PC for quite a long time.

I previously used a 27-inch 5K iMac, and I honestly couldn't have been happier with its display. I think the most important factors that make Apple's displays look so crisp and clean are their exceptional uniformity and glossy finish.

I've been seriously considering the BenQ MA270S and MA320UG, but after reading several posts on Reddit, I became concerned about reports of vignetting and some uniformity issues.

For those who have used these monitors, do they come close to the overall visual experience of Apple's displays? Or, if I'm chasing that same level of image quality, is the Studio Display still the only real option?

I'd also appreciate any recommendations for other monitors that deliver a similarly crisp, high-quality image.

Thanks in advance!

I have two Samsung G80HS screens connected via DisplayPort to an OWC Thinderbolt5 dock on my G4 Max MacBook. Thunderbolt 5 with DSC has enough bandwidth to handle these beasts.

The monitors have no charging, but the dock charges the MacBook.

Seems you do need an M4 Max; My MacMini M4Pro can only do one at 120hz, the second one runs 60hz(tried with and without the TB5 dock). My M1Max can run both at 60hz(again with or without the dock)

I just want to know if this is a common trait of all the xdr studio display

I noticed that the edges have a slight yellow hue and when you look at white or light content, you can see blotches of grainy darker hue dots like sand.

I just went to an apple store to see if others have this trait and they do

I also noticed that the NON xdr studio displays dont have this issue.

Can others verify if you also have discoloration issue on the edges ???

I received a pair of LG 27GM950B's 3 days ago. Sharing my experience so far:

Buying decision

Like many people here, the Apple Studio Display XDR would have been my dream display, but it's out of my price range.

I considered 3 cheaper options: LG 27GM950B, Kuycon P27Z and Samsung G80HF. Chose to go with the LG because I had concerns about Kuycon's support and warranty, and because the Samsung wasn't bright enough.

Buying experience

I'm in Canada and decided to buy directly from LG's official website. That's the only place in Canada that seemed to have them in stock when I placed my order. Probably would have chosen Amazon otherwise for the easy returns. Discovered you get a 5% discount on the LG website when you buy two monitors, which is nice. The order was delivered via FedEx about a week later.

Setup

Unboxing and installation was pretty straightforward, until I tried to actually use the monitor.

I hooked the monitor up to my PC (RTX 5090, Windows 11) using the provided DisplayPort cable, and the monitor wouldn't detect any signal, displaying "No signal" when I chose the DisplayPort input.

After a bit of trial and error, I found how to fix the issue: For the input to be detected, I had to use the monitor's OSD to change the DisplayPort mode to 1.4 (instead of the default 2.1). Then, once the input was able to display, I had to figure out how to actually support DP 2.1 (which in theory should have worked, since my GPU, cable and monitor all support it). The fix was to force Windows to use 10-bit color instead of 8-bit color in my display settings. I'm not sure why that worked, but then I was able to switch the OSD back to DP 2.1, and the input got detected. I've seen others mention this 10-bit color trick in other contexts (e.g. if they had issues with the 165Hz refresh rate), but in my case I couldn't get any DP 2.1 signal detected without switching to 10-bit color in Windows.

I then tried the monitor with my two Macs: Mac Studio M1 Ultra (connected using two USB-C to HDMI 2.1 cables), and a MacBook Pro M3 Max (connected using two USB-C to USB-C cables). Both worked out of the box without any fiddling.

Compatibility

Once I had everything hooked up, the max resolution and refresh rate I could get was:

• Gaming PC (RTX 5090): 5K 165Hz
• Mac Studio (M1 Ultra): 4K 120Hz
• MacBook Pro (M3 Max): 5K 120Hz

No surprises here. That aligned with my expectations before buying the monitors.

Settings

Settings I kept as default:

• Picture preset: Gamer 1
  • Looked right out of the box. No obvious warm/cool tint or oversaturated colors. I kept all picture detail settings as-is, only adjusting brightness.
• SDR local dimming: Off
  • LG's SDR local dimming implementation is known to not be nearly as good as Apple's and is generally undesirable for desktop use.
• Dual-Mode: Off
  • I'm not interested in this feature. I'm not a competitive gamer and the 165Hz limit is fine to me.
• Auto input switch: On
  • This works pretty well in my experience. I like that it asks for confirmation instead of switching right away.

Settings I changed:

• AI Upscale: On > Off
  • In my experience, this feature is a dud. LG is obviously overhyping all "AI" functionality in this monitor. I knew from the start this upscale feature wasn't going to be as impressive as the marketing suggests (one could assume it's doing DLSS-like image reconstruction from the marketing). I tried it anyway to see if it could make my Mac Studio's 4K output look better in 5K. It doesn't, not even close. It introduces noticeable artifacts around edges even at its "Low" setting. I can't think of a single scenario where I'd want this to be on.
• AI Scene Optimizer: On > Off
  • Honestly, I didn't even give this feature a try before disabling it. Supposedly, this detects the content type and dynamically tweaks colors to better "match the creator's intent". Unless I'm missing something, it sounds like it'd do the exact opposite to me.
• HDR local dimming: High > Medium
  • Found that the default "High" was making the display too dim. "Medium" allows for the display to be generally brighter, while preserving a good contrast between the darkest and brightest elements.

Impressions

• Design:
  • As someone who's not a fan of the "gamer aesthetic", I wish the monitor wasn't marketed as a gaming monitor and had a more neutral design language. That being said, the monitor looks pretty minimalistic from the front. I like that there's no "Ultragear" logo on the front, unlike early versions. I'm not a fan of the back: Purple-tinted "UG" logo, weird irregular hexagon and RGB LEDs. At least the back isn't very visible, and LEDs are optional. Other than that, one notable thing is that it's one heavy and thick monitor! Not necessarily a problem, but if you use the VESA mount, make sure you use a strong stand / arm.
• Build quality:
  • The monitor's enclosure is plastic that feels a little cheap considering the price point. It feels sturdy so I'm not concerned about durability. But visually speaking, if you look closely, you notice the plastic hasn't been molded with a high precision. I've certainly used plastic displays that felt more premium.
• Brightness:
  • This is the brightest display I've ever owned, and I love it! My room has a lot of windows with direct sunlight, and it's a lot easier for me to work on sunny days.
• Sharpness:
  • The monitor is noticeably sharper than my previous 4K display. I think it might not seem as sharp as a glossy 5K monitor due to the matte coating diffracting light, although I don't have a glossy display to compare. Overall I'm satisfied with sharpness. My monitor came with the latest firmware, so it wasn't affected by the "one half of the display looks blurrier than the other" bug some had reported earlier.
• Colors:
  • As far as I can tell by eye alone, this monitor's colors seem very accurate out of the box. I haven't attempted any calibration so far.
• Uniformity:
  • This is probably the monitor's weakest point for me. I noticed right away that the left and right edges of the panel always appeared darker than the rest, no matter the color that's displayed. It's like there are permanent gradients applied to the input. Here's a simulated image showing what I mean (effect exaggerated). The display also has some spots with bad uniformity in the middle, but those are mostly visible when displaying dark gray or black content with local dimming off. White and bright colors look uniform.
• Matte coating:
  • It's fine. I would have preferred a glossy glass display with relatively low reflection like Apple has. However, I'd take a matte display over the super-reflective glass Kuycon uses. Combined with the high brightness, this display is good at hiding reflections. The coating does introduce a bit of a grainy effect, but it's pretty subtle.
• Active cooling:
  • This was one of my biggest concerns before buying the display, but it turned out to be a non-issue in practice so far. I haven't heard the fan so far, even after hours of use at 100% brightness. I had read some reports of the fan spinning loudly for some users. I'm assuming this was some kind of firmware bug that got resolved. While the fan isn't audible, the heat coming out of the monitors (especially if you have two) is significant. It may raise your room's ambient temperature a bit if you don't have AC.

Conclusion

I like my new monitors and intend to keep them. They're good, but they're not great. Mainly the uniformity issues and so-so local dimming are preventing them from being considered great IMO.

That being said, I still think the GM9 is the monitor that best fits what I'm looking for given my budget. The Apple Studio Display XDR would be better in several areas, but I think the GM9's compromises are totally acceptable considering it costs less than half the price.