Damning Pro Display XDR review says that it can't compete with reference monitors

By Oliver Haslam
published

Pro Display Xdr Rear
Pro Display Xdr Rear (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Respected display calibrator and reviewer Vincent Teoh turned his attentions to Pro Display XDR.
  • He compared it with Sony's $43,000 BVM-HX310.
  • The result wasn't great for Apple.

There haven't been all that many reviews of Apple's Pro Display XDR. We've seen the odd one, but not many. Now we have another to add to the mix, and it's the one person I've been hoping would get around to Pro Display XDR – display calibrator and reviewer Vincent Teoh.

Teoh has a great YouTube channel where he reviews displays and TVs, with technical analysis married with more subjective reporting. So when he turned his attention to Pro Display XDR I knew things could get interesting. And that's exactly what happened when Teoh compared the display with Sony's $43,000 monitor.

At first, you might think that's unfair. Pro Display XDR might be costly at $4,999 (opens in new tab), but it's a fraction of the cost of Sony's own reference monitor. But this is the same monitor Apple called out at WWDC when it first announced Pro Display XDR. And it made a big song and dance about the new screen being "the world's best pro display". So, is it?

Well, not according to this review.

Teoh takes us through the display's specifications and even shows us exactly where the 576 local dimming zones are. He uses professional grading equipment to see just how the display's color, contrast, and brightness performs, too. There are highlights, if you pardon the pun. But there aren't enough of them to suggest that this is a real alternative for professional color graders.

But what if you're a YouTuber who wants a display that will let them create HDR content on a relatively small budget? That's a different story.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

8 Comments
  • But you can create hdr content for way cheaper than the crapple monitor.
  • Btw to all the lemmings here, the Sony monitor was the one Apple had pictured at the release event jumping up and down about how their way overpriced Xdr was as good as if not better than. So. Yeah our 5000 dollar monitor is better than the 43,000 Sony. Except when you get found out that it’s not the narrative changes to what do you expect it’s 5000. Which is it? The Apple xdr is just an lg 1000 dollar monitor with a cheese grater strapped to its back.
  • Funny how real professional equipment almost never has the word "pro" in its designation...
  • They usually have a much worse, hard to remember name. Not sure what point you're making here
  • Pro equipement don't need PRO in the name to draw in suckers. that's the point. Defend to the end eh' danny? A fool and his money......
  • What does it matter if it has Pro in the name or not? Apple has done this for years, why would they change their naming scheme? There's nothing to defend here, nor attack. Apple products are more expensive, we all know that. I'm not planning to buy one of these
  • The thing is, they got on stage. Jumped up and down claiming this monitor was better than the Sony. They claim it’s “pro”. It’s not. It’s far from it. It’s an overpriced monitor you can purchase from lg directly for 1200 with a ******* stand included. Apple is gouging lemmings like yourself who will defend and believe anything that the almighty fruit tells you. You will bow to the supreme ruler without question. It matters because it’s not a pro device. But you won’t understand because you are so far up apples ***.
  • I haven't said anything about the monitor being better here, and I'm pretty sure you can get a monitor that's either just as good or very close at a much cheaper price, every Apple product has Apple tax. It's not something I'd buy simply because it costs too much and I don't need it for what I do