Pro Display XDR - Owners Thread

[- rob -]

So you guys are still ordering these, i'm in the market for one in the UK.
Not looking like Apple is going to replace it with something similar any time soon?
Are we expecting an October event?

It seems like Apple has decided the XDR is sufficient to design and build for the Vision Pro and other Pro industries where display quality matters.

Maybe it’s time to estimate an upgraded version of the monitor. Something with Promotion seems obvious.

If I understand correctly that calls for tech that isn’t in market and enough machines that could drive such a display.

Based on the spare design of the XDR I would be surprised if something got built in. That’s what iMac is supposed to cover.

Also, it could be that the Studio display, which seems to have sold more widely than the XDR, could get an upgrade to Pro motion first.

Apple can surprise us, they have before. But I personally think the Vision Pro is where they are aiming to provide the high-end personal displays.

Only the Vision Pro can show off spatial video and fully demonstrate spatial computing as it is being created by teams of designers and engineers.

So flat display, either the ones you hold in your hands or look at on a desk are kind of looking backward for the company at this point.

They are still important, but they are not capable of what Apple believes will be how people experience media and software products going forward.

 

[rumz]

Also, it could be that the Studio display, which seems to have sold more widely than the XDR, could get an upgrade to Pro motion first.

This is the only display that I’ve seen more “smoke” around than the others. More than one source pointing to a potential upgraded ”ProMotion, miniLED” version of the Studio Display. I agree it’s probably waiting on TB5. I know the bandwidth exists in other forms to drive such a display ”comfortably” (HDMI 2.1, etc)— but Apple seems very much committed to their displays using Thunderbolt exclusively.

 

[citivolus]

My display had uneven brightness with lighter areas along the top and center. There also is a noticeable DSE. I was expecting a challenging appointment to have to justify my concerns but the genius didn’t even look at the display or take it out of the box! He just immediately ordered a new panel part which is the entire LCD screen so hopefully this one will have more even brightness and no dead pixels. I was happy but very surprised. He told me that the store had never done a repair on this model before so we shall see…

After waiting for a week for the part to arrive, the Apple Store called me to say it was ready. Turns out they just replaced the entire monitor (I'm assuming with a refurbished display since it came in a plain white box). Nevertheless, it is much, much better! Is there any way to see when the display was actually manufactured?

 

[mombil]

I think the genius wasn't aware, that the display could only be fully replaced since it can't be opened for repair.
You can check the Week and Year of manufacture with Better Display:
(my replaced display is 2019/1)

 

[citivolus]

I think the genius wasn't aware, that the display could only be fully replaced since it can't be opened for repair.
You can check the Week and Year of manufactue with Better Display:
(my replaced display is 2019/1)
View attachment 2289084

Mine is showing the exact same date, not to mention that the Pro Display XDR wasn’t even introduced until June 2019. I know when Apple switched to random serial numbers (as these Pro Displays now have) it is not possible to infer the date of manufacture from it.

 

[tstafford]

Mine is showing the exact same date, not to mention that the Pro Display XDR wasn’t even introduced until June 2019. I know when Apple switched to random serial numbers (as these Pro Displays now have) it is not possible to infer the date of manufacture from it.

View attachment 2289158

FWIW - my ASDs all show the same date as one another in BD. I'm suspicious of the data.

 

[oogje]

I was chatting with BetterDisplay's author on the app's discord channel about determining the date of the XDR's manufacture. He looked at the Extended Display Identification Data from my recent XDR purchase and determined the display's meta data doesn't accurately indicate the date of manufacture.

waydabber: So generally the identifiers in the EDID which are read by both BetterDisplay and are provided even by some APIs of macOS itself when describing the display are not really useful/valid.

 

[citivolus]

I was chatting with BetterDisplay's author on the app's discord channel about determining the date of the XDR's manufacture. He looked at the Extended Display Identification Data from my recent XDR purchase and determined the display's meta data doesn't accurately indicate the date of manufacture.

Can you try plugging your serial number into this website?

Wat is dit serienummer?

Mine gives these values:

Production year : 2020
Production week : 3 (January)

Wonder if this is accurate?

 

[oogje]

Can you try plugging your serial number into this website?

Wat is dit serienummer?

Mine gives these values:

Production year : 2020
Production week : 3 (January)

Wonder if this is accurate?

There's a good possibility that it's accurate.

Production year : 2022
Production week : 50 (December)

I bought my XDR mid-June, 2023.

 

[Backd00r]

I‘m planning to buy the Pro Display XDR along with the 14“ MBP 2023. I was wondering if anyone has tested the screen with geforce now or any other streaming gaming service. How is the quality? Lag issues?

I hooked up my MBP to a 27“ Eizo Screen via HDMI and have a bit of lag.

 

[m11rphy]

Hey all, still waiting for my display, was wondering if I need a longer thunderbolt lead if I can use the apple thunderbolt pro 4 cable? I couldn't see a thunderbolt 3 cable on their site

Shopping Agreement - Apple (UK)

Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable provides superfast data transfer, charging and connection to your compatible Mac. The braided design avoids tangles. Buy now.

www.apple.com

 

[rumz]

Hey all, still waiting for my display, was wondering if I need a longer thunderbolt lead if I can use the apple thunderbolt pro 4 cable? I couldn't see a thunderbolt 3 cable on their site

Shopping Agreement - Apple (UK)

Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable provides superfast data transfer, charging and connection to your compatible Mac. The braided design avoids tangles. Buy now.

www.apple.com

From the product details on that page— emphasis added:

“Use this cable to connect a Mac with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (USB-C) ports to Thunderbolt (USB-C) and USB displays and devices such as Studio Display, Pro Display XDR, docks and hard drives.”

This will work! I’d say there are less expensive options in the 2m range, but this is probably your best option if you need 3m length (not sure others exist at this length).

 

[m11rphy]

From the product details on that page— emphasis added:

“Use this cable to connect a Mac with Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (USB-C) ports to Thunderbolt (USB-C) and USB displays and devices such as Studio Display, Pro Display XDR, docks and hard drives.”

This will work! I’d say there are less expensive options in the 2m range, but this is probably your best option if you need 3m length (not sure others exist at this length).

Thanks buddy I totally missed that, I feel like a right dummy now lol

 

[mac-jam]

UK users, are you buying your displays directly from Apple?

 

[m11rphy]

UK users, are you buying your displays directly from Apple?

I did yes

 

[rumz]

Thanks buddy I totally missed that, I feel like a right dummy now lol

No worries! I had to read that line in the product description a couple times to make sure it said what I thought it did 😝

 

[- rob -]

I can not seem to place my hands on the original polishing cloth for my nano-textured XDR. Has anyone had luck getting these replaced for free, or has the company shifted to only providing the $19 replacements? It wasn't clear but it seemed like replacements were provided without charge early on in the product's life.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

I have a Studio Display and have been thinking to get the Pro Display XDR for a while now, but I always have the feeling that the display has a lot of issues. From what I've been reading, it seems to me like the Pro Display has been some kind of "concept" of a device, sold to a few premium users, while the matured mass product that emerged from it is in reality the Studio Display.

I don't even mind that the Pro Display doesn't have speakers or a camera (I in fact don't even want these), but technically speaking, the Studio Display seems to be more mature and have less issues. So it kind of feels like a downgrade to go from a Studio Display to an XDR. The only thing that keeps me interested is the additional screen size.

 

[etc]

I have a Studio Display and have been thinking to get the Pro Display XDR for a while now, but I always have the feeling that the display has a lot of issues. From what I've been reading, it seems to me like the Pro Display has been some kind of "concept" of a device, sold to a few premium users, while the matured mass product that emerged from it is in reality the Studio Display.

I don't even mind that the Pro Display doesn't have speakers or a camera (I in fact don't even want these), but technically speaking, the Studio Display seems to be more mature and have less issues. So it kind of feels like a downgrade to go from a Studio Display to an XDR. The only thing that keeps me interested is the additional screen size.

No, it's not a concept, that's only your feeling. For me XDR is obviously better than ASD. I'm not quite understand what you mean by "lot of issues"?

 

[Silly John Fatty]

No, it's not a concept, that's only your feeling. For me XDR is obviously better than ASD. I'm not quite understand what you mean by "lot of issues"?

I generally read about many more issues the XDR has, than the ASD. I don't know of many ASD issues, but the problems of the XDR have 40+ pages dedicated to them here. Just as an example. I've been reading about a lot of issues with the brightness distribution of the screen. I basically keep reading about technical issues of the XDR, that makes me unsure if I'd still like to buy one. On the other hand, I would appreciate the bigger screen. I'm not sure if it's worth the risk.

 

[etc]

I generally read about many more issues the XDR has, than the ASD. I don't know of many ASD issues, but the problems of the XDR have 40+ pages dedicated to them here. Just as an example. I've been reading about a lot of issues with the brightness distribution of the screen. I basically keep reading about technical issues of the XDR, that makes me unsure if I'd still like to buy one. On the other hand, I would appreciate the bigger screen. I'm not sure if it's worth the risk.

Brightness distribution, i. e. backlight uniformity is a thing of XDR because of its construction - it's not an issue itself, just a specificity of dimming zones - it's very difficult to have all of these LEDs having the same color and Apple here made a real thing. Actually I consider its backlight even more uniform than in any other display has with traditional side LED backlight.

So again, there're no risks - just specifics. And you can see this only in specific conditions.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Brightness distribution, i. e. backlight uniformity is a thing of XDR because of its construction - it's not an issue itself, just a specificity of dimming zones - it's very difficult to have all of these LEDs having the same color and Apple here made a real thing. Actually I consider its backlight even more uniform than in any other display has with traditional side LED backlight.

So again, there're no risks - just specifics. And you can see this only in specific conditions.

But you see, you say it yourself that this technology is complicated and even though it's complicated, Apple has done it well, you said. But nonetheless, it's a complicated technology and that brings risks. That's why I consider it some kind of prototype and not really a 100% matured product.

But then again, those people who buy this very expensive Pro Display, are maybe the ones who financed the maturing of the Studio Display in the end. Maybe the ASD wouldn't exist without the XDR.

 

[etc]

But you see, you say it yourself that this technology is complicated and even though it's complicated, Apple has done it well, you said. But nonetheless, it's a complicated technology and that brings risks. That's why I consider it some kind of prototype and not really a 100% matured product.

But then again, those people who buy this very expensive Pro Display, are maybe the ones who financed the maturing of the Studio Display in the end. Maybe the ASD wouldn't exist without the XDR.

You don't hear me, it's not a prototype, it's a different technology and that's it. It has no relation to extra risks. It's much more expensive and not mass-market - nothing more.

ASD is even older than XDR in this matter, "mature" as you said. Literally 2017 UltraFine 5K display, but in aluminum enclosure. XDRs and ASDs are not "relatives" here either.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

You don't hear me, it's not a prototype, it's a different technology and that's it. It has no relation to extra risks. It's much more expensive and not mass-market - nothing more.

ASD is even older than XDR in this matter, "mature" as you said. Literally 2017 UltraFine 5K display, but in aluminum enclosure. XDRs and ASDs are not "relatives" here either.

Okay, you are right. They're different technologies. But since the XDR technology is so rare and not for mass markets, I believe it is also not tested and matured as well and more prone to issues.

Don't you think the XDR has more issues than the ASD?

 

[etc]

Okay, you are right. They're different technologies. But since the XDR technology is so rare and not for mass markets, I believe it is also not tested and matured as well and more prone to issues.

Don't you think the XDR has more issues than the ASD?

Nope, I don't think so. There's a big thread about ASDs, they have enough issues