Watch 13 different computers be tested with Apple's $5k Pro Display XDR

Pro Display XDR with Mac Pro and MacBook Pro (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple's Pro Display XDR is only supposed to be compatible with some devices.
But YouTuber Max Tech wanted to see what happened when he plugged some machines in.
13 computers later, we have our answer.

There's been so much attention lavished on Mac Pro that it's sometimes easy to forget about the Pro Display XDR monitor. At $4,999 it's something most people won't buy – and that's before you find somewhere to put it other than the $999 stand. But if you do have one, what can you plug into it?

Apple lists a select few computers that it reckons will work with the Pro Display XDR, along with a catch-all caveat that anything with specific ports will also work just fine. But YouTuber Max Tech wanted to see what would happen if you stepped outside that list of computers. What would work, and what wouldn't?

That's a fine question and you can watch this 12-minute video to see what happened.

13 different machines were tested including MacBook Air, iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, a Chromebook Go, and some Windows PCs to round things out.

The too-long-didn't-watch version? You'd be surprised what works – at least to some extent – with a Pro Display XDR monitor. But you probably shouldn't spend the thousands of dollars to get one unless you're using it with an officially supported Mac.

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.