Has Apple changed the panel in Studio Display?

[DRuser]

I bought a Studio Display at launch and was very happy with it so far. Two weeks ago I received my second one to have a dual monitor setup on my Mac Mini. Seeing those two side by side the new one is darker, has quite a color shift towards yellow, is less sharp and is also noticeable darker. I was unsure if I just got a bad copy so I asked Apple for a replacement which arrived today. This one has exactly the same issues.
Does anyone know if Apple has changed the panel supplier recently?

 

[tstafford]

I bought a Studio Display at launch and was very happy with it so far. Two weeks ago I received my second one to have a dual monitor setup on my Mac Mini. Seeing those two side by side the new one is darker, has quite a color shift towards yellow, is less sharp and is also noticeable darker. I was unsure if I just got a bad copy so I asked Apple for a replacement which arrived today. This one has exactly the same issues.
Does anyone know if Apple has changed the panel supplier recently?

That seems odd. I bought all three of mine within about six months of each other and (to my eye) they are identical. I'd be unhappy as heck if I had a pair and they didn't match precisely. It's this kind of aesthetics that we are, in part, paying for.

I'm voting "bad copy".

I presume you have checked every setting and verified they are identical.

 

[DRuser]

I presume you have checked every setting and verified they are identical.

Without a calibration device, which I don't have on hand at the moment, there is not really much you can do as far as I know. I went through the presets but the difference was basically the same.

 

[DRuser]

I bought all three of mine within about six months of each other and (to my eye) they are identical.

When did you buy your last one?

 

[tstafford]

When did you buy your last one?

I think October '22 was the third one.

 

[DRuser]

I think October '22 was the third one

Thanks. As this was over a year ago it could be they have changed something since then. Maybe there are also two panel suppliers as they seem to have with Macbooks.

 

[joevt]

Check the EDIDs for build year and week? I believe the EDID for built in displays of iMacs or MacBook Pros has info about the panel being used.

 

[DRuser]

Check the EDIDs for build year and week

Good idea, where would I find the EDID?

 

[tstafford]

Good idea, where would I find the EDID?

While I'm not sure how the EDID will help you, the easiest way would be to install Better Display. It can retrieve the EDID for you. I run the full version but the trial may be able to do it as well.

 

[DRuser]

While I'm not sure how the EDID will help you, the easiest way would be to install Better Display.

I've installed Better Display and both monitors show basically the same EDID information. Vendor, model ID, date of manufacture all the same.

Seems like I have no choice, either accepting the differences or sending it back and stick to the single monitor setup.

 

[hagjohn]

Exchange it back if you are not happy.

 

[learjet]

A general question regarding buying multiple displays: Should you always buy multiple monitors at the same point in time or from the same batch, to avoid color or manufacturing differences? Do modern LED-lit monitors change their color reproduction over time (do they „age“) and could that be the problem in this case?

 

[ryanarrr]

I don't know if it's possible to change this per-monitor (since I don't have two Studio Displays), but is it possible that you have True Tone turned on on one of them? To my eyes it gives everything a gross yellow pale, which sounds somewhat like what you are describing.

In the worst case, it could be that the first one is the bad one. I bought a pair of Dell 4k monitors a few years back that were the same sku and yet didn't have matching colors. I bought a third one and returned the one that didn't match. The odd thing was that the "correct" calibration ended up being the one I thought was the bad one out of the original pair. Of course, it was all close enough that I'd never have noticed anything was off if they weren't side-by-side.

 

[DRuser]

s it possible that you have True Tone turned on on one of them

That was my first thought as well, however activating True Tone gives an even stronger yellow-ish tinting effect. Both monitors side by side made my first one look a little bit shifted to magenta.

In the worst case, it could be that the first one is the bad one

This is what I'm also worried about. Nonetheless I would not be happy with two copies of the new yellow-ish one as there is also less brightness and sharpness. Having 600 nits available was one of the reasons to buy the Studio Monitor in the first place.

 

[DRuser]

Exchange it back if you are not happy.

Yeah this seems to be the only option left. I was also thinking about borrowing a calibration device to bring the two closer together in terms of color reproduction, but I don't think this will help with sharpness/brightness at all.

 

[tstafford]

I'd exchange the new one. I know it's a PITA but it's worth a try.

 

[Zest28]

I guess the only way to do it is bring your Mac and Apple Studio Display to the Apple Store and try many Apple Studio Displays with permission of the Apple Store employees to find a display that matches your current one.

Or since you had 2 displays that had the same yellow tint, see if you can exchange your current display for one of those earlier Apple Studio Displays so that you have a matching pair in the end.

Btw, did you try it with an other PC or Mac to see if the same difference in tint happens? Just to rule out that your Mac is not the problem.

 

[dz5b609]

I guess the only way to do it is bring your Mac and Apple Studio Display to the Apple Store and try many Apple Studio Displays with permission of the Apple Store employees to find a display that matches your current one.

Or since you had 2 displays that had the same yellow tint, see if you can exchange your current display for one of those earlier Apple Studio Displays so that you have a matching pair in the end.

Btw, did you try it with an other PC or Mac to see if the same difference in tint happens? Just to rule out that your Mac is not the problem.

Or just buy a calibration device, which you really should already own with this monitor because every monitor will start to shift colors and brightness and will be in need of calibration at least every year for any kind of professional color grading work (which if you don't do, then why the hell do you have this monitor?).

 

[DRuser]

Btw, did you try it with an other PC or Mac to see if the same difference in tint happens?

Good thinking. I can try that with my old Intel Macbook Pro.

 

[DRuser]

Or just buy a calibration device,

As stated above, this could only help in terms of color accuracy but not with less brightness/sharpness, which I also experience with the new unit.

 

[DRuser]

Good thinking. I can try that with my old Intel Macbook Pro.

Tried with my Intel Macbook Pro, it is the exact same.

 

[DRuser]

I played with the color presets a bit today and noticed that as soon as you create a custom preset you can not adjust the brightness anymore. As this would be a big inconvenience in my workflow so I decided to return the unit.

 

[DRuser]

Thank you guys for your thoughts!

 

[Wheel_D]

@DRuser, have you considered getting a refurbished ASD from Apple’s store? As part of the refurbishment process, Apple supposedly performs rigorous quality testing.

 

[DRuser]

have you considered getting a refurbished ASD from Apple’s store? As part of the refurbishment process, Apple supposedly performs rigorous quality testing.

I am not sure yet if Apple would consider this as faulty. It is more likely that they have changed the panel or the panel manufacturer. As far as I know they did this in the past with Macbooks Pros where it was just pure luck to get the 'good' panel.

Edit: Just checked the European refurbished store, as I like your idea. They don't have any monitors at the moment.