


#Mac secondary display pro#
It's a really slick and effective screen that suits the MacBook Pro perfectly. All told, the BenQ DesignVue PD3220U makes better compromises and offers superior value. It's over double the price if you spec Apple's pricey height-adjustable stand and the optional anti-glare coating.Īnd, of course, the Apple's panel is much smaller. But then the Apple Studio Display costs at least 50% more. In truth, the PD3220U's speakers are best viewed as backups only to be used in emergencies. Value for money: As for what you miss out on for the price, well, there's no webcam or microphone array and the built-in stereo speakers are nothing on the Apple Studio Display's sextet of drivers. Even better, the DesignVue PD3220U comes factory calibrated and there's a Mac-specific M-Book mode that synchronises colours profiles between the display and a connected MacBook Pro at the clock of a few buttons. So there is basic HDR support, which can be handy for some workflows. But it can process an HDR10 signal and render HDR colours correctly. Granted, with no local dimming and only 300 nits peak brightness, this isn't remotely a true HDR display. There's plenty of precision on offer, too, with 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 digital cinema gamut. Likewise, the 32-inch diagonal makes for ample physical screen real estate. But it still serves up nice, crisp fonts and plenty of image detail. At 140DPI, it doesn't offer true Retina-style pixel density.
#Mac secondary display full#
It's a quality IPS item with full 4K resolution. Performance: First up is the PD3220U's 32-inch panel. That would be one awesome pro-level MacBook display solution. Yes that includes retaining all the other single-cable docking and charging functionality. So you could buy two of these monitors and connect to them with a single cable. Unlike the official Apple Studio Display, the BenQ DesignVue PD3220U makes full use of Thunderbolt 3's daisy chaining capability courtesy of a second Thunderbolt 3 downstream port.

That means you can hook up your MacBook, drive the display, keep everything charged and also dock peripherals like external storage, all with one cable.īut it gets better.
#Mac secondary display plus#
Up front and centre is Thunderbolt 3 connectivity with 85W of power delivery, plus both USB-C and a trio of USB-A ports. That makes for a pleasing premium look.Ĭonnectivity is another strong point. Moreover, the PD3220U is relatively unusual in having consistent bezel width on all four sides of its IPS panel. The minimalist slim-bezel design is very "Apple" with its Space Grey-style colourway. But it's still a damn fine display and one that suits the MacBook Pro perfectly, both in technical terms and aesthetically.ĭesign and Build Quality: The BenQ DesignVue PD3220U is a perfect fit with your MacBook Pro when it comes to design and build quality. It doesn't even support local dimming or true HDR capability. After all, it's not some fancy pants new OLED panel. In technical terms, you could even argue it's a little dated. The 4K panel delivers sharp, accurate image quality, the connectivity is great and it's even styled sympathetically to suit Apple laptops. ★★★★★īenQ's DesignVue PD3220U is getting on a bit these days. 🖥 The BenQ DesignVue PD3220U is a fabulous all-round monitor that makes for a perfect fit with the MacBook Pro. Precision, accuracy, good connectivity and plenty of pixels are what it's all about. What you probably don't need to worry about are game-centric features that sacrifice resolution in return for ultra-high refresh rates, quirky uberwide aspect ratios or crazy panel curvature. So a screen with a high quality panel and excellent colour coverage usually makes sense. Likewise, MacBooks are great at workflows that major on image and video production and processing. But, generally, MacOS makes good use of higher resolutions and increased pixel density. There's no single perfect solution for every user. You can also use that single cable as a dock, with various devices hooked up to the monitor itself, like a keyboard, mouse, and external storage.Ĭonnectivity aside, there are a wide range of choices when it comes to size, aspect ratio, resolution and support for features like HDR rendering. The key point is that USB-C and Thunderbolt allow you to connect your MacBook Pro to a monitor and keep it charged with a single cable. Those two interfaces share the same physical connector and largely the same features, though available bandwidth can vary. The most obvious is USB-C or Thunderbolt connectivity with power delivery. But there are also critical features that make for a better experience for every MacBook Pro user. What's the best monitor for the Apple MacBook Pro in 2023? Partly that depends on your particular needs, preferences and workflows.
