If you’re planning on dropping upwards of $2000 on a new M4 or even M3 Ultra 2025 Mac Studio, you want to make sure you’re seeing the best images possible on the screen. These monitors will help you do just that.
First off, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Any discussion about monitors for the Mac, and the new 2025 Mac Studio range in particular, has to at least mention the fact that Apple is rumoured to be working on a new 27-inch Studio Display with potentially a mini-LED screen.
Not before time either. The current high-end model was introduced in 2022, and display technology has come a fair way since then. A mini-LED would be a decent upgrade on the current unit’s existing 5K LED panel, but rumour has it that it won’t be ready until 2026. That’s a fair amount of time between refresh cycles in a moving technology space.
Of course, that’s nothing compared to the wait since Apple introduced the $5000 6K Pro Display XDR in 2019. That was expensive at the time, is still expensive now, and is even more difficult to justify given the progress all around it from other companies since. Add in the $999 adjustable stand, which is something that still makes you question what exactly Apple was thinking at the time, and you have something that is very hard to recommend to anyone in 2025.
So, what does that leave us with? Well, even all that said, you still probably have to start at the top with Apple gear.
Keeping it in the family: Apple Studio Display
So, it might only have a year of life left, but this is still a very very good display, even at that price, though again Apple tries a bit of a gouge by charging $400 for a height adjustable stand. Which is best described as cheeky when the monitor itself starts at $1599.
It was actually announced in tandem with the first M1 Mac Studio three years ago, and features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen with over 14.7 million pixels, 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide colour, and support for over one billion colours. Apple’s True Tone technology automatically adjusts the display’s colour temperature as the environment changes for a more natural viewing experience. It also features nano-texture glass as an optional extra, something first introduced on Pro Display XDR, which scatters light to further minimise glare while delivering outstanding image quality. This will add $300 to the price, though.
It also features a 12MP Center Stage camera, a high-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers, support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos, and a studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming. You get one Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port, three USB-C ports, and, of course, all that Apple design goodness that means it fits in perfectly with your new Mac Studio.
Under $1000: ASUS ProArt 5K
To be honest, if it was out already we’d have subtitled this section ‘Over $1000’ and talked about the awesome looking ASUS ProArt Display 6K PA32QCV. This features a 6016 x 3384 resolution screen with 216 pixels per inch for excellent image clarity. ASUS says that compared to a 4K monitor of the same size, the PA32QCV provides 145% more onscreen workspace. It also features 98% DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB coverage, and is targeting VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification.
It also features the company’s LuxPixel Technology, a suite of eyecare-friendly technologies that includes Anti-Glare, Low-Reflection (AGLR) tech, a coating that makes the screen look like paper, as well as minimizing reflections.
A European price of €1399 has been confirmed to us by ASUS, along with a release date of June. US pricing is being complicated by the moving picture surrounding tariffs and is thus still being decided, but we’ll update here as soon as it emerges.
In the meantime, let us direct your attention to the $799 ASUS ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV. This Calman-verified 27-inch 5K monitor prioritises colour reproduction above most other things, offers a wide gamut with 99% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB and 95% Adobe RGB coverage, and also has a high density PPI of 218 which matches the Apple Studio Display spec.
It’s DisplayHDR 500 certified and also factory calibrated to Delta E<2 for exceptional color accuracy. Built-in Auto KVM allows for effortless switching between two connected machines using a single keyboard and mouse for those that really need something else running alongside their Mac Studio.
To ensure brightness and color temperature accuracy, ambient light and backlight sensors automatically adjust visual settings, while it also features the same LuxPixel features as the PA32QCV. A USB-C port offers DisplayPort support and enables superfast data transfers and 96-watt power delivery via a single cable.
Compared to its predecessor, it also has a space-saving base that’s 33% smaller, as well as a 30% slimmer profile that measures just 8 mm at its thinnest point. All in all it’s a decent bit of industrial design that won’t disgrace anything Apple alongside it in the slightest, while each ProArt display features an ergonomic stand with tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment thrown in. For free. Cupertino take note.
Under $1000: BenQ PD3225U
Also available as a $300 cheaper 27-inch unit, the 32-inch BenQ PD3225U can normally be found at the $1000 mark and is pretty much pitched as a lower-cost Studio Display replacement. It is Calman-verified, has a 4K UHD resolution, covers 98% P3, 99% sRGB, and 99% Rec.709 colour spaces, and also has Delta E ≤ 2. If it has an obvious weak point it is that its PPI is much lower than the other machines we’ve talked about so far, down at around 140, though it should be pointed out that this is absolutely fine for most work. Peak brightness at 400 nits is also a little bit dimmer than the others.
Nevertheless it is a popular choice with a lot of people, has a great 2000:1 contrast ratio thanks to IPS technology, plays nicely with Windows machines, and has some decent features, not the least of which is its exclusive ability to sync with Mac device colors with one click via its M-Book mode. That makes it particularly useful if you want to use it as a second screen alongside a MacBook for example.
One neat other addition is the HotKey Puck, which offers users the flexibility to customize and access their most-used features via a dedicated mini control device that connects to one of the monitor’s many ports. Users can and switch the dial to access brightness, contrast, and volume adjustment, plus assign shortcuts to feature sets using the three function keys. Additionally, the rotation key allows users to assign custom shortcuts to settings.
Budget options
If having to shop in the sub-$500 range for a new monitor is what gets your purchase of a new Mac Studio over the line, then so be it. Inevitably you will be making compromises somewhere along the line. It’s not so much about things like refresh rate, but brightness will be down, connectivity options reduced, pixel density lower, and more. Speakers and webcams will be underpowered if they exist at all.
Nevertheless there are some good options here. The ASUS ProArt Display PA278CFRV features a 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) display with the same LuxPixel AGLR features as its higher end brethren and is a bit of a steal at $359. Another $100 or so upgrades you to the 4K ASUS ProArt Display PA279CRV, which also bumps up DCI-P3 coverage from 95% to 99%, though doesn't feature the LuxPixel tech. The Samsung ViewFinity S8 comes in at a similar price and offers a 32-inch 4K screen (a more expansive and expensive 37-inch model was announced just before CES), and the Dell U2723QE 4K HDR offers plenty of connectivity and LG’s IPS Black display technology for good contrast ratios.
If you can wait a bit longer…
Another monitor unveiled at CES was the new LG UltraFine 6K Display, the first of its kind to support Thunderbolt 5. This comes a massive nine years after the release of the original LG UltraFine 4K and 5K displays, which were good enough for the task at hand that Apple sold them through its own stores, and six years after the range was refreshed.
Apple stopped selling LG in 2022 when its own Studio Display launched, so it’s unlikely to feature them again, especially with a new one waiting in the wings. Details on the new LG are few and far between at the moment, but what we do know is that it features a Nano IPS Black panel, delivering a wide color gamut covering 99.5% of Adobe RGB and 98% of DCI-P3. We’ll take a punt and hope that it will feature a Pro Display adjacent spec too, but nothing is certain. Refresh rate, price, and availability are all still shorted in mystery too, but best guesses place the price somewhere around $2500.