M2 Air with Studio display

[Geoff777]

Does anyone here use a Studio Display with an M2 Air?
Thinking of retiring my iMac 27" 5K - it's knocking on for 7 years old and starting to have issues.

I have an M2 Air but it's pretty basic, 8gb RAM, 512GB hard drive and I use it for work only at the moment so haven't tried video editing or photo work with it yet.

The idea is to get a Studio Display now and buy a Studio (or maybe Mini) later - I can't justify the cost of both in one hit!
Not interested in the 24" iMac.

Any user experience would be very welcome, thanks.

 

[1BadManVan]

I personally dont have this set up but I have seen few different posts over the past year and so far it's always been a positive experience.

 

[curnalpanic]

Have you seen this 133-page thread?

Apple Studio Display - Owners Thread

Yes, it‘s a few days until any of us will actually be “owners,” but the reviews should be coming soon, and we should have a dedicated thread to share our thoughts. Suggested topics of discussion: What are your initial impressions (after you set it up)? Are you replacing an existing display or...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[JamesMay82]

I have the same set up as you. I bought the studio display for my works m1 air and it works fine with 8GB and 256GB. I also bought it to try and see if I could use my personal iPad as my 27 inch iMac replacement and that was a disaster so I've just ordered the Mac Studio which is arriving this week.

In hindsight, I now wish I'd tried the new 24 inch iMac as I do miss the all one one display. if I was you I'd shortlist a specced up iMac m3.. some of new reviews are pretty good for them even in the base form so a high spec one will be good I think. and cheaper!

 

[1BadManVan]

I have the same set up as you. I bought the studio display for my works m1 air and it works fine with 8GB and 256GB. I also bought it to try and see if I could use my personal iPad as my 27 inch iMac replacement and that was a disaster so I've just ordered the Mac Studio which is arriving this week.

In hindsight, I now wish I'd tried the new 24 inch iMac as I do miss the all one one display. if I was you I'd shortlist a specced up iMac m3.. some of new reviews are pretty good for them even in the base form so a high spec one will be good I think. and cheaper!

how is going the iMac route cheaper when he already owns an m2 air?

 

[JamesMay82]

how is going the iMac route cheaper when he already owns an m2 air?

he said he was going to buy a mini or studio as well down the line for his personal use. the air was his work machine.

 

[neuralengine]

I use an M1 Air base model (8-core CPU / 7-core GPU / 8 GB Memory / 256 GB Storage) with the Studio Display and it runs the Studio Display effortlessly. I imagine it would be even less taxing on the M2. Previously I was on a 2020 27-inch 5K iMac. I don’t miss it at all, this set up has worked much better for me (and it’s a lot quieter).

I mostly use this computer for web development and design as well as some occasional photo editing in Lightroom. It does these things without any hesitation.

In my personal experience, while the display in the 2019 and 2020 5K iMacs and the Studio Display are supposed to be very similar on paper, the Studio Display is much nicer.

 

[whiteashsaturday]

– I set my M1 Mac Studio on the shelf, and I use the 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable to run to the Studio Display.
– The Studio Display provides 3 additional USB-C ports for anything I need on the desk, and ALL the other hard drives and the Mac Studio sit nice and clean on the shelf to my left or right.
– Swapping the single Cable to connect my M2 MacBook Air is a breeze. I prefer to have an additional cord to simply connect to the Studio Display instead of pulling it from the back of the Mac Studio. The shorter Thunderbolt 4 1-meter length works well for this as the M2 MBA is sitting just to the left of the Studio Display, if that makes sense.

Studio Display can then be used with ANY future setup you have.

 

[Geoff777]

Thanks everyone for your comments.... very helpful. I'm going to get the Display (when in stock, run out over here!) and link with the M2 Air for now. If it can't cut it, I'll upgrade to a Mini or Studio later.

 

[mrmister]

I use a Studio Display with an M2 Air. It has been fantastic.

 

[richinaus]

– I set my M1 Mac Studio on the shelf, and I use the 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable to run to the Studio Display.
– The Studio Display provides 3 additional USB-C ports for anything I need on the desk, and ALL the other hard drives and the Mac Studio sit nice and clean on the shelf to my left or right.
– Swapping the single Cable to connect my M2 MacBook Air is a breeze. I prefer to have an additional cord to simply connect to the Studio Display instead of pulling it from the back of the Mac Studio. The shorter Thunderbolt 4 1-meter length works well for this as the M2 MBA is sitting just to the left of the Studio Display, if that makes sense.

Studio Display can then be used with ANY future setup you have.

I do something similar to this but with a PC box and my Mac Studio. The PC on the 3m cable so it is far away and the fans don't annoy me as much! I would have said the studio display was perfect if it had 2 TB inputs and able to work more as a hub between 2 computers, rather than plugging and unplugging cables.

FWIW I find the studio display a bit sluggish on my M1 MBP Max but great on the M1 Studio Ultra.

 

[rocketbuc]

Would your setup benefit from connections that other 4k displays offer? We organized my wife a Dell 4k display with her new M2 Mac mini. The Ethernet port and the USB-A ports are very helpful to use her keyboard & co. The benefit for your M2 Air would be far greater because you lack all these ports.

 

[andrew8404]

I just picked up a studio display VESA mount and will say with a M2 MacBook Air 16GB and 512 SSD it has ran fine. Granted I haven't really pushed it hard yet. Secondly, my wife has a 15 Air 8GB 256GB model and it is a little sluggish. Not terrible but she likes to have several tabs and Microsoft apps open at the same time. I've gotten several beach balls and she was even wondering why it was happening because it runs fine off the studio display. So just a heads up.

 

[Jamacfer]

MBA M1 and Studio Display here: a great combo!