Certified testers loved the accuracy of colors and high brightness levels on the Apple Pro Display XDR display, agreeing that it would be a great choice for content creators and top-level editors. However, they believe gamers would shun it due to a relatively high input lag, and lack of G-Sync/FreeSync support. They also lauded the display for its high contrast ratio and beautiful design, but they didn’t appreciate the limited connectivity options and the inability to calibrate the display.
Picture Quality
Black
- As with the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV, expert testers lauded the Apple Pro Display XDR monitor for how well black colors appeared on it and attributed this to its use of Full Array Local Dimming technology. This technology makes it possible for individual pixels to be turned off, ensuring that there’s no light coming out of the black parts of an image.
Brightness
- The Apple Pro Display XDR impressed reviewers with a peak brightness rating of 499 nits in SDR mode, and when switched to HDR mode, the maximum brightness shot up further to 1,600 nits. It can be considered one of the finest Thunderbolt monitors.
- However, reviewers were slightly put off with the fall-off in brightness on the edges and argued that it was most noticeable when they sat directly in front of it as users would when working. The off-axis luminance was prevalent partly because of the monitor’s size, and experts agreed that there wasn’t much they could do to reduce it.
Color Accuracy
- Product testers admired the Apple Pro Display XDR for its exceptional color accuracy. Their tests established that the monitor had a Delta E score of 0.68, which meant that it had an unprecedented ability to reproduce colors accurately. You may want to compare Apple computer monitors vs Dell Ultrasharp before deciding on this one.
Color Gamut
- The Apple Pro DisplayXDR was loved by critics for its near-complete coverage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-p3 color gamuts. The top-tier display registered a 94.3%, 96.7%, and 98.7% coverage of the three different color spaces respectively, making it perfect for high-end photo and video editing, as well as content creation.
Color Gradient
- Top evaluators were satisfied with the Apple Pro Display XDR’s ability to portray subtle and smooth gradients such as sunsets. They credited this to the fact that it is a true 10-bit color display, capable of 1024 colors per channel.
Color Uniformity/Variance
- The Apple Pro Display XDR was admired for how well it could uniformly reproduce a wide range of color spaces. Testers pointed out that the true 10-bit color display goes through a rigorous factory calibration process to ensure the display is perfectly tuned for the best results out of the box.
Contrast
- Experts were very happy with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio of the Apple Pro Display XDR. They concluded that this resulted from the TV’s use of a locally dimmed backlight that consists of 576 individually controlled LEDs. This allows for the exhibition of super-bright image areas as well as deep blacks simultaneously.
Resolution
- The Apple Pro Display XDR delighted testers from The Verge and Techspot with its Retina 6K resolution of 6016 by 3384 pixels and a density of 218 pixels per inch. This makes it the largest Retina display ever made by Apple.
Refresh Rate
- Product evaluators were thrilled that the Apple Pro Display XDR could be set to match the frame rate of a video for both viewing and editing. They found that the display could be set to 60Hz, 59.94Hz, 50Hz, 48Hz, or 47.95Hz.
Glare and Reflections
- The Apple Pro Display XDR pleased reviewers with the option to buy it with a nano texture glass upgrade, which would significantly eliminate glare and reflectivity. This would be ideal for users that work in uncontrolled lighting conditions.
- However, testers pointed out that the nano texture upgrade would be expensive for some users.
HDR
- Expert testers appreciated how well the Apple Pro Display XDR could handle HDR content. They were quick to illustrate that Apple’s use of XDR in the display’s name, meaning Extreme Dynamic Range, was to show its ability to “take High Dynamic Range to a new level.” They also pointed out that the TV could efficiently process HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision HDR formats and was impressed with its 1600 nits peak brightness for HDR.
- However, testers were not happy with the blooming that would appear when viewing HDR content.
Image Flicker
- The Apple Pro Display XDR wowed evaluators with its inclusion of non-integer frame rates such as 59.94Hz and 47.95Hz, as this meant that users would then be able to watch content that has an actual frame rate of 23.976Hz, 24Hz, 25Hz, or 29.97Hz without any flicker.
Image Retention
- Top evaluators were satisfied with the Apple Pro Display XDR’s use of an LED backlighting system, as it ensured resistance to permanent image retention (burn-in).
Local Dimming
- The Apple Pro Display XDR boasts 576 full-array local dimming zones, thrilling testers with how accurately it could display deep blacks. This makes the display significantly better and able to reproduce blacks deeper than the AOC I1601FWUX USB-C Portable Monitor, which has no dimming zones.
Design
Aesthetics
- Experts appreciated the thin edge-to-edge display on the Apple Pro Display XDR. They were happy with the 9mm borders, and despite it not being curved, they were still pleased with its wide viewing angles. In addition, its aluminum enclosure is just an inch thick, and with an exceptional design. The display easily stands out from other models of a similar price range.
Build Quality
- The Apple Pro Display XDR excited testers from PC Mag and Cnet with its exceptional build quality. The corners were meticulously rounded, and at the back, there’s a machined aluminum finish that resembles a cheese grater (also found on the Mac Pro) and helps release the heat generated from the vast array of LCDs.
Portability
- Product evaluators were glad that the Pro Display XDR was lightweight for its size, weighing a decent 16.49 pounds. Compared to the Asus PG32UQX, the 6K display is lighter, making it slightly easier to move around.
Size
- The Apple Pro Display XDR had experts pleased with its 32-inch screen size, as well as its dimensions. The TV measured 28.3 inches wide and 16 inches tall, which experts agreed was the perfect size for content creators.
- However, some experts felt that the display wouldn’t allow for a multi-screen work environment due to its bulkiness.
Stand and Mounting
- The Apple Pro Display XDR delighted testers with how easy it was for users to adapt it to their preferred viewing angles. Buyers have the option to purchase it with its Pro Stand, which allows for height and tilt adjustment, as well as rotation. In addition, they loved that the stand is weighted, as this meant the display wouldn’t wobble once connected.
Features
Connectivity and Inputs
- Product reviewers were disappointed that users wouldn’t be able to easily adjust the Apple Pro Display XDR, as it doesn’t have any buttons on the monitor. This means no calibration. However, the monitor does allow for up to 4 USB C connections on its back, where one is a Thunderbolt 3 port.
Controls
- The Apple Pro DIsplay XDR irritated evaluators with its lack of buttons for calibration. Instead, they could only control the LCD panel through its macOS software, where they could adjust brightness, resolution, and reference modes in the display’s control panel.
Bluetooth
- Certified testers did not comment on the Apple Pro Display XDR’s lack of support for Bluetooth connectivity.
Menus
- The Apple Pro Display XDR proved to be difficult for testers to calibrate, as they could only make changes by navigating to the Displays menu on macOS.
Microphone
- Expert reviewers did not comment on the lack of a microphone on the Apple Pro Display XDR.
Speakers
- The Apple Pro Display XDR does not feature built-in speakers. Reviewers noted that different models such as the iMac had stereo speakers, which was a great addition.
Webcam
- Analysts did not comment on the lack of a webcam on the Apple Pro Display XDR. However, after further research, they did come across the Logitech Magnetic webcam, which they pointed out was specially built for the Pro Display XDR.
Gaming
G-Sync / FreeSync
- The Apple Pro Display XDR did not demonstrate any support for G-Sync or FreeSync compatibility, and reviewers didn’t find this shocking as it was clear to them that the Pro Display was not a gaming monitor.
Adaptive Sync
- Top testers did not foster any bad feelings against the Apple Pro DIsplay XDR for its lack of support for Adaptive-Sync technology for smoother visuals. Instead, they concluded that running games at a 6k resolution weren’t ideal anyway, as the monitor would require a lot of GPU horsepower to do so.
Input Lag
- The Apple Pro Display HDR did not thrill expert testers with an input lag of 20ms at 60Hz. However, they were not entirely disappointed with this since the monitor wasn’t quite designed for gaming (which would require a much lower input lag).
Response Time
- Analysts weren’t able to establish the response times on the Apple Pro Display XDR. As a result, they didn’t leave any comments regarding this.
Text Clarity
- The Apple Pro Display XDR didn’t have expert testers leave any comments about how well text appears on the screen. However, they were satisfied with the display’s high pixel density and the level of detail that this allowed for.
Viewing Angles
- Expert reviewers were not impressed with the 89-degree viewing angle on the Apple Pro Display XDR.
- They established that when viewed from the side, there is a noticeable amount of brightness fall-off at the edges of the screen.
