Are you working in dark mode? Do you see any ghosting on the display similar to the 16" MBP display?
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Pro Display XDR Nano vs. Standard
- Thread starter Aboo
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Are you working in dark mode? Do you see any ghosting on the display similar to the 16" MBP display?
I got my nano version today. I love it, it absolutely kills reflections and way better than any anti-reflective film-based screen I’ve ever used. If you use some of the built-in profiles it can look a bit dim, but with the 1600 nits profile it’s amazing. Actually a little too bright but then you can adjust to taste.
![C4568D3B-0BDE-4613-AA47-19698D243C65.jpeg]( "C4568D3B-0BDE-4613-AA47-19698D243C65.jpeg")
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Initially, though, what you said is that the XDR's backlight is not as uniform as that on the iMac. Total brightness aside, is there more non-uniformity in the XDR?
I got the Nano glass (to replace 2 5K LG's) and have been working with it for ~1week. I mostly work in Xcode & VSCode for software development (I know, the XDR is total overkill).
My initial impressions are mixed. Its sold of a love-hate relationship after the first week. Here are some of my thoughts on the display, that may help others with a similar use-case:
Pros:
Beautifully designed HW that looks very minimalistic and purposeful.
The stand works really, really well. Has an unprecedented precision "feel" to it while adjusting the height & tilt.
Nano glass does a great job at cutting out the majority of reflections which I find helps me focus while coding.
32" is a perfect size. I don't feel the need for a 2nd display
the 3k default resolution (6k/2) looks great for the size of this display. Its one of the biggest arguments for the XDR over other displays, as I find on most, the resolution vs. physical size if always awkward.
MBP 16" wake from sleep work perfectly. I tried som many monitors over the years, and they never work quite right. Either there is a delay in wake from sleep, the resolution is wrong or the monitor never comes on at all. With the XDR it's been great so far. Fast and reliable wakeup.
Cons:
Nano texture - Yes, I list this as both a pro and a con. IMO, Nano is the obvious choice for anyone who works with visual content (video/images). The image is stunning and looks almost e-ink/e-paper like. Any use case that is not vector based really works well on the nano. For everything else, sadly, the nano texture makes font and vector shape edge rendering just slightly blurry. For my use-case, I care about crisp fonts, down to very small point sizes, and the nano just doesn't work well for that. For this reason, I am considering switching to a standard glass. I haven't quite made up my mind on that just yet, have to go to Apple Park visitor center to look at the 2 side-by side. So far I have only seen a standard glass on its own (Palo Alto) and its super crisp text, as expected.
Nano viewing angle. While this is no real issue for my use-case, there is a definite darkening towards the edge of your FOV. Unless you sit very far away from the XDR, no matter how you position the center of your vision, 32" is big and will lead to a significant angle toward the edge of the screen. The nano texture does some harm to brightness and vector/font edge sharpness.
The stand/mount doesn't have horizontal/vertical centering. When you adjust your display's height, its almost unavoidable to disturb its horizontal/vertical alignment to 0° or 90°, which is really annoying. So you have to "fix" the rotation after each time you adjust the height. This is really a bummer as the stand works so well otherwise. Apple should have added some passive centering for the rotation.
Bonus: Logtech camera
works really well, both physically and technically
magnetic attachment is neat, centered!
the camera destroys the minimalistic look of the display, which is really a bummer. I will probably send back the camera for that reason.
Overall its a fabulous display. Sure, its an enormous amount of money. However, for those of us who stare at the thing all day long, it may be a worthwhile investment, like a good chair and desk.
Im curious to hear other software developer's take on this. Anyone else got the nano and considering switching?
My initial impressions are mixed. Its sold of a love-hate relationship after the first week. Here are some of my thoughts on the display, that may help others with a similar use-case:
Pros:
Beautifully designed HW that looks very minimalistic and purposeful.
The stand works really, really well. Has an unprecedented precision "feel" to it while adjusting the height & tilt.
Nano glass does a great job at cutting out the majority of reflections which I find helps me focus while coding.
32" is a perfect size. I don't feel the need for a 2nd display
the 3k default resolution (6k/2) looks great for the size of this display. Its one of the biggest arguments for the XDR over other displays, as I find on most, the resolution vs. physical size if always awkward.
MBP 16" wake from sleep work perfectly. I tried som many monitors over the years, and they never work quite right. Either there is a delay in wake from sleep, the resolution is wrong or the monitor never comes on at all. With the XDR it's been great so far. Fast and reliable wakeup.
Cons:
Nano texture - Yes, I list this as both a pro and a con. IMO, Nano is the obvious choice for anyone who works with visual content (video/images). The image is stunning and looks almost e-ink/e-paper like. Any use case that is not vector based really works well on the nano. For everything else, sadly, the nano texture makes font and vector shape edge rendering just slightly blurry. For my use-case, I care about crisp fonts, down to very small point sizes, and the nano just doesn't work well for that. For this reason, I am considering switching to a standard glass. I haven't quite made up my mind on that just yet, have to go to Apple Park visitor center to look at the 2 side-by side. So far I have only seen a standard glass on its own (Palo Alto) and its super crisp text, as expected.
Nano viewing angle. While this is no real issue for my use-case, there is a definite darkening towards the edge of your FOV. Unless you sit very far away from the XDR, no matter how you position the center of your vision, 32" is big and will lead to a significant angle toward the edge of the screen. The nano texture does some harm to brightness and vector/font edge sharpness.
The stand/mount doesn't have horizontal/vertical centering. When you adjust your display's height, its almost unavoidable to disturb its horizontal/vertical alignment to 0° or 90°, which is really annoying. So you have to "fix" the rotation after each time you adjust the height. This is really a bummer as the stand works so well otherwise. Apple should have added some passive centering for the rotation.
Bonus: Logtech camera
works really well, both physically and technically
magnetic attachment is neat, centered!
the camera destroys the minimalistic look of the display, which is really a bummer. I will probably send back the camera for that reason.
Overall its a fabulous display. Sure, its an enormous amount of money. However, for those of us who stare at the thing all day long, it may be a worthwhile investment, like a good chair and desk.
Im curious to hear other software developer's take on this. Anyone else got the nano and considering switching?
Thanks for your thoughtful and detailed post.
How do you think the glossy XDR would compare to your LG 5K's for text sharpness (I assume the latter is glossy, correct)?
And do you miss the 50% extra screen real estate you had with the dual 5K's? [2 x 311.5 in^2 = 623 in^2 for the dual 27's, vs. 428 in^2 for the 32.]
Also, since your criteria seem very similar to mine, can I ask (out of curiosity) if there any differences in PQ between the LG 5K and the 27 iMAC display, particularly for text? I've seen the latter but not the former.
While I haven't seen them side-by-side, only sequentially, IMO the 5K, iMac and standard glass XDR are identical in terms of font sharpness due to their equal PD. The nano XDR on the other hand, despite same PPI, "feels" not as sharp, and even blurry (plus dark) at less than 90° viewing angle.
Regarding screen real estate, I was never a big fan of multi-monitor setups. I dislike the gap in the middle and never seem to know where my cursor is. So the single 32" is a much better solution for my use.
Hi, do you find the text nice and sharp on your nano compared to your MBP 16 or a glossy 5k iMac? I am virtually convinced to get the Nano version but would just like some final thoughts..Thanks
If you sit really close or look very closely it is a tiny bit less sharp, but in normal use at a normal viewing distance I don't notice it. That said, if I was someone doing text-only work on this screen I would probably get the regular version. I am doing image editing about 95% of my time and as a result I'm not looking at much text, and the lack of glare is paramount for me.
Just a quick example of the glare reduction on the nano version today in my office. The LG UltraFine actually is quite good at glare resistance, better than the old 27" Thunderbolt displays. That said, the nano just kills almost all reflection.
![IMG_0959.jpg]( "IMG_0959.jpg")
That picture shows the scattering of the nano nicely and like I said in my review, therefore the nano is the best choice for content creators. If you write code all day long, this same scattering makes the text blurry and looking at the XDR is not so much different than looking at a lower DPI display.
Yep, I totally agree with your use case recommendations. The blur is far less noticeable at a "normal" viewing distance though. I noticed it at first but now I don't even think about it. Maybe it's just because I'm getting old and my eyes aren't what they used to be.
Damn!!
I went to the store today after having placed an order last week for standard glass... and I was looking at the nano next to the glossy one for 45 minutes and holy Steve Jobs it looks amazing!
I’m considering to cancel my order just because of a switch to nano... dang it looked so nice with video- super immersive, as someone was saying almost like paper...
I also really care about text crispness and don’t have too many reflections in my room, currently looking at two glossy dell displays and most of the time it’s fine, but hm. Wondering what to do..?
I could cancel the order as I ordered the display without a stand at first and now the delivery times for the stand have slipped so far behind, I might as well set up a new order, as the display without the stand will be worthless.
one thing that makes me not wanna chose the nano version Is that I’m gonna have to keep using one glossy dell screen next to it at least for a while as a full screen video preview for my editing, and I think it’s gonna annoy me a lot of one will be matte while the other one will be glossy.
I went to the store today after having placed an order last week for standard glass... and I was looking at the nano next to the glossy one for 45 minutes and holy Steve Jobs it looks amazing!
I’m considering to cancel my order just because of a switch to nano... dang it looked so nice with video- super immersive, as someone was saying almost like paper...
I also really care about text crispness and don’t have too many reflections in my room, currently looking at two glossy dell displays and most of the time it’s fine, but hm. Wondering what to do..?
I could cancel the order as I ordered the display without a stand at first and now the delivery times for the stand have slipped so far behind, I might as well set up a new order, as the display without the stand will be worthless.
one thing that makes me not wanna chose the nano version Is that I’m gonna have to keep using one glossy dell screen next to it at least for a while as a full screen video preview for my editing, and I think it’s gonna annoy me a lot of one will be matte while the other one will be glossy.
Nano is the way to go IMO. I have two 30" ACDs and I could never get used to the standard glass of the iMac/TB displays. Any light source just reflects so much on the glass making such an annoying distraction. On the matte/nano displays on you don't have this issue. That's for sure worth to pay the premium IMO.
Apple Store Berlin in Germany
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You’re right. That’s it, I’m canceling my order and getting the Nano!
Just worried how it will force me to upgrade my second display as well. It’s gonna be unbearable next to it..
Sorry to impose, but if someone could upload a photo of text on the glossy vs the nano display to illustrate how troublesome the text blurring issue is on the nano, it would be greatly appreciated, I have a nano on order but the reports above have given me pause. Our local store only has a glossy screen available so I can’t compare in person.
Thanks - that is incredibly helpful. It does not look that bad at all. I suspect that for me the glare resistance will be worth going with the nano. I really appreciate you taking the time to post that.
It's been out for nearly a month, and not 1 professional review yet. Just you tubers promoting it and idolizing it. How are black levels, viewing angles, color?
I’m gonna go to the store again either today or Monday and gonna take some more shots.
Stock availability has been pretty much non-existent so that's not surprising. The first ones started trickling in just late last week. Give it a little time.
I have to repeat what others have stated, images look absolutely INCREDIBLE on the matte display, while text appears A BIT soft.
Glossy:
![BC9FA8CC-C2B8-4329-B29C-1355974498FB.jpeg]( "BC9FA8CC-C2B8-4329-B29C-1355974498FB.jpeg")
Nano:
![981E3929-B6C0-4815-B00D-AA0BA98C2231.jpeg]( "981E3929-B6C0-4815-B00D-AA0BA98C2231.jpeg")
Blacks might appear a tiny tiny bit darker on the glossy but I feel it’s neglectable.
Sadly the difference in crispness is almost Invisible on pictures. But even In real life it’s not a big compromise.
Maybe a tiny bit like having a 4K 27” screen set to 1440x retina resolution be native 5k set to 1/2.
I’m extremely torn and don’t know what to chose myself anymore..![9FA6747C-5C3E-4357-9ACB-9FBA9E679D39.jpeg]( "9FA6747C-5C3E-4357-9ACB-9FBA9E679D39.jpeg")
Glossy:
Nano:
Blacks might appear a tiny tiny bit darker on the glossy but I feel it’s neglectable.
Sadly the difference in crispness is almost Invisible on pictures. But even In real life it’s not a big compromise.
Maybe a tiny bit like having a 4K 27” screen set to 1440x retina resolution be native 5k set to 1/2.
I’m extremely torn and don’t know what to chose myself anymore..
Do you have any text to text comparisons? The pictures you posted are a bit apples vs oranges (pardon the pun)