The Apple Studio Display 2022 is a 27-inch, 5k display. It competes with the LG UltraFine 5k and is one of two monitors from Apple. Meant for personal use, it's a lower-end model of the 32-inch, 6k Apple Pro Display XDR, which is targeted at professional content creators. You can choose between a tilt-only stand, a tilt and height-adjustable stand, or a VESA mount adapter if you want to use a mounting arm. It's also available in different screen coatings, as you can choose between a standard glossy coating or a matte Nano-Texture option. It has some perks many other monitors don't have, like a microphone and webcam with Center Stage and different picture modes for various color spaces, but it doesn't support HDR. Regarding inputs, it has four USB-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 3.
Our Verdict
The Apple Studio Display 2022 is disappointing for PC gaming but isn't meant for this. It's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and doesn't support any VRR technology to reduce screen tearing. Also, it has poor motion handling due to its slow response time.
- Low input lag.
- No VRR support.
- Limited to 60Hz.
- Low contrast and no local dimming.
- Poor motion handling.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 is bad for console gaming. However, it isn't meant for this because it doesn't have any HDMI inputs to connect a console. It also has a limited 60Hz refresh rate, no VRR support, and a slow response time that results in blurry motion.
- Low input lag.
- No VRR support.
- Limited to 60Hz.
- Low contrast and no local dimming.
- Poor motion handling.
- No HDMI ports to connect consoles.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 is an excellent office monitor. You can access all of its features, like the exceptionally accurate sRGB picture mode, using a macOS computer, but you don't get all the features and settings with a Windows PC. Luckily, images and text look sharp thanks to its high resolution, and it has a screen that's big enough to open two windows side by side. It also has high brightness and fantastic reflection handling, so glare isn't an issue in bright rooms. Sadly, the stand on the tilt-only variant has terrible ergonomics, so it's hard to place in an ideal viewing position.
- Excellent brightness.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Exceptional accuracy before calibration.
- Sharp text and image clarity.
- Terrible ergonomics with tilt and height-adjustable stands.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 is decent for content creation in SDR. It has exceptional accuracy before calibration in the sRGB picture mode that you can only access with macOS, so you won't need to calibrate it, and it displays a wide range of colors, but it doesn't support HDR at all. It also has a 27-inch screen with a 5k resolution, displaying sharp images with a ton of detail. Sadly, it has terrible ergonomics as it's hard to adjust to your favorite position, but you can buy a variant with a VESA mount adapter instead.
- Excellent brightness.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Exceptional accuracy before calibration.
- Sharp text and image clarity.
- Terrible ergonomics with tilt and height-adjustable stands.
- Low contrast and no local dimming.
- No HDR support.
- Can only access sRGB mode with macOS.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 gets bright enough to fight glare in SDR, but it doesn't support HDR at all.
- Excellent brightness.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 has a bad response time, leading to blurry motion with fast-moving objects.
- Poor motion handling.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 doesn't support HDR.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 has decent SDR picture quality. It displays a wide range of accurate colors, but it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray in the dark.
- Displays wide range of colors.
- Low contrast and no local dimming.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 has remarkable color accuracy. It has an exceptionally accurate sRGB mode, so you won't need to calibrate it even for perfectly accurate colors. However, you can only access the sRGB mode with a Mac computer.
- Exceptional accuracy before calibration.
- Can only access sRGB mode with macOS.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Apr 01, 2026:
We clarified that this model has since been replaced by the Apple Studio Display 2026.
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Updated Mar 27, 2026:
We updated the Console Compatibility scores from N/A to 0 to better reflect our testing methodology.
- Updated Mar 17, 2026: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.1.2. We added a new Panel Technology box, including the Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) graph.
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Updated Mar 05, 2026:
We renamed the product to the Apple Studio Display 2022.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch Apple Studio Display 2022(model number A2525), which is the only size available. We purchased the variant with the tilt-only stand and the standard glossy screen coating; there are different stand and screen coating options that you can get for this monitor. Besides the ergonomics and reflection handling, the results are valid for the other variants. It's also a lower-end model of the Apple Pro Display XDR, and you can see the differences between the two monitors below.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Stand Options | Screen Coating | HDR | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio Display 2022 | 27" | 5k |
Tilt-only Tilt and height VESA-mount adapter |
Standard glossy Matte Nano-Texture |
No | Yes |
| Pro Display XDR | 32" | 6k | Tilt-only Tilt and height VESA-mount adapter |
Standard glossy Matte Nano-Texture |
Yes | No |
You can see the label for our unit here. It was tested with firmware 15.4.
This model has since been replaced by the Apple Studio Display 2026.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Apple Studio Display 2022 is a good 5k monitor for content creators, but you need to use a Mac computer to take full advantage of it. It has exceptional accuracy before calibration with its sRGB mode and gets very bright. Unfortunately, it isn't versatile for many other uses, as it lacks HDR and falls short in some areas. The limited ergonomics are disappointing, and you can only wall-mount it if you get the variant with the VESA mount adapter. That said, it's a good choice for what it's meant for, but you can also check out the Dell U2723QE if you don't need all of the extra features and prefer getting something for less.
Also, see our recommendations for the best 5k monitors, the best monitors for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, and the best monitors for Mac Mini.
The Apple Studio Display 2026 is an updated version of the Apple Studio Display 2022. The 2026 model carries over many of the same features and performs similarly for the most part. One main difference is that newer model supports Thunderbolt 5, as opposed to Thunderbolt 3 on the older version. The 2026 monitor also supports daisy chaining to connect a second screen directly to it.
The Apple Studio Display XDR is higher-end and newer than the Apple Studio Display 2022, so it's an upgrade in a few areas. For example, the XDR has better picture quality with Mini LED backlighting and deeper blacks, and it also supports HDR. The XDR also has a higher 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother feel, but it isn't an upgrade in motion handling. Plus, the XDR supports the faster Thunderbolt 5 interface and daisy chaining, the latter of which is something the older Studio Display doesn't support.
The ASUS ProArt Display 6K PA32QCV and the Apple Studio Display 2022 are both high-end, high-resolution monitors. While the ASUS has a bigger 32-inch screen and higher 6k resolution compared to the 27-inch, 5k screen of the Apple monitor, they each have the same pixel density. However, text looks better on the Apple monitor because the variant with glossy coating results in clearer text compared to the matte coating of the ASUS. That said, the coating on the ASUS does a better job at reducing glare. Besides that, there are some differences between them, as the ASUS has a bigger USB hub, including Thunderbolt out and Thunderbolt 4, while the Apple monitor uses Thunderbolt 3. The Apple monitor has an advantage with SDR picture quality, as it has better color accuracy, but it doesn't support HDR at all.
The Apple Studio Display 2022 and the ASUS ProArt Display PA27JCV are both 27-inch 5k editing monitors. The ASUS is the better option for most people, as it's far better suited to PCs, has better contrast, and supports HDR. However, if you have a Mac, you may prefer the Apple Studio Display, as it's more accurate before calibration, has sharper text, and performs equally well in bright rooms.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
Test Results
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