The result is that the display can operate on 1,000 nits of brightness indefinitely.Įven though the TV Logic reference model can reach a brighter peak brightness of 2,000 nits making it 25 percent brighter than the XDR’s peak brightness level, Apple was able to deliver this performance with more pixels in a more integrated design package.
DIFFERENT TYPE OF APPLE COMPUTER MONITORS PRO
To overcome that feat, Apple equipped the rear of the Pro Display XDR with a perforated pattern, which it calls a lattice design, to act as a heat sink and double the surface area for cooling. “Now, a typical thermal system would make this impossible to achieve for more than a few minutes.” “Then, we use custom lenses and reflectors to actually shape and precisely control the light,” Apple continued to explain during its WWDC keynote. The timing controller controls the LED at ten times the refresh rate of the LCD itself to reduce latency and ensure smooth playback with color accuracy. Rather than use white LEDs, Apple used an array of 576 blue LEDs to amp up the brightness and a timing controller applies a massive algorithm to control and modulate each LED based on the content. How then did Apple achieve a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 on the LED-based Pro Display XDR? Apparently, by redesigning both the LED backlighting and the heat regulation. The result is extremely deep blacks and game-changing contrast. Some high-end televisions (and even some computer displays) have switched to OLED, a type of screen technology that uses no backlighting at all, meaning you can turn a pixel off completely. “And the eye can see the brightest specular highlights, really dark blacks, vibrant, rich colors, and all the details in between.”Ĭontrast is another piece of the puzzle. “HDR is a way to bring content to life by better reflecting what the eye can see in the real world,” Apple said in its demo. Even most LED television sets won’t be able to approach the contrast ratio promised by the Pro Display XDR. Because no monitors (outside the mentioned reference models) actually reach 600 nits of sustained brightness, they have to fake it to try and output HDR content - or at least pretend to mimic the effect. Apple’s XDR mode creates a screen that’s at least 60 percent brighter than the DisplayHDR 1000 standard in both instances. The VESA DisplayHDR 1000 specification requires only 600 nits of sustained brightness and 1,000 nits of burst brightness. Brightness is supremely important in a screen because the HDR effect can’t really be felt on dimmer screen. So what makes “XDR” so much better than standard HDR? Well, the monitor can sustain display brightness of 1,000 nits – compared with the roughly 350 nits you’ll get on a typical desktop monitor.Įven the iMac display, one of the brightest computer displays you can buy, is just over half the brightness of this new Pro Display XDR. HDR is the standard the entire industry uses Apple claims it has outdone them all. In creating its XDR display, Apple claimed that it has improved on HDR technology by building the largest Retina display that it’s ever created.
“And it’s the most incredible panel we have ever made.”īut when it comes to what this monitor can actually do, we have some serious questions. “So our goal, it was simple: Make a display that expertly delivers every feature the pros have asked for,” Tim Cook’s team said of the Pro Display XDR in Apple’s WWDC keynote. Then again, it doesn’t feature a 6K resolution and results in some extreme heat and sound output. With a similar 32-inch display size, we found a 31-inch TV Logic 4K Reference Master Monitor with Stand at Adorama that retails for $32,395 and delivers comparable features to Apple’s panel. That’s why Apple started by positioning it against pro-quality reference monitors, which can cost as much as $43,000. Not only is it five times the price of a really expensive monitor, it’s also considerably more ambitious. That all sounds impressive on paper, but how significant is it really? XDR versus HDRĬomparing the Pro Display XDR to a standard monitor is an exercise in futility. XDR, or Extreme Dynamic Range, is what it’s called. According to Apple, it’s so advanced that it needed a new label. Six million pixels spread across a 31-inch screen for a total of 218 pixels-per-inch, sustained 1,000 nits of brightness, and 1,000,000:1 contrast - it’s all a bit insane. So when Apple came out with its new Pro Display XDR monitor at WWDC 2019, which promises contrast and brightness never before seen outside a high-end Samsung television, it had our attention.