Just a heads-up. The 5K Samsung S9 Thunderbolt display just dropped to $999. Lowest price so far.
So, I’m using this monitor, and it’s big, bright, and beautiful. And cheap. But I want to offer one point of feedback here. It doesn’t seem to be software-dimmable.
I can use the OSD (On Screen Display) to modify the brightness, but that’s a clunky navigation through menus using hidden buttons on the screen itself. The normal way of using the F keys on the keyboard don’t work, and the brightness adjustment in Control Center is grayed out. The result is that I’m stuck with the same brightness whether it’s daytime (I’m by a window) or late at night in a dark room.
Online help usually says to disable HDR to get this to work, but it’s already off. And I haven’t found a setting in the Mac’s “Displays” settings that seems to make a difference.
Any suggestions are welcome!
Have you had a look at Lunar?
Or have a look at Monitor Control GitHub - MonitorControl/MonitorControl: 🖥 Control your display's brightness & volume on your Mac as if it was a native Apple Display. Use Apple Keyboard keys or custom shortcuts. Shows the native macOS OSDs.
Fascinating! I saw the trial, and I know I don’t want to pay for something like this. But it seems the trial may be just for the Pro version, and there’s a free one (apparently also on GitHub) that may have enough to solve this problem:
Seems odd to me that I should need 3rd party software to fix something like this. Is it normal for 3rd party screens to not support this? I guess it may be given the tools available online!
This looks cool, too. Maybe I’ll try one of these out.
Thanks!
That’s what I’ve been using since February to control my twin LG monitors connected to my MBP in clamshell mode. Works a treat. More discussion here, IYI.
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So, I tried this one out first because, frankly, it was easier for me to figure out how to download (it’s in the App Store).
I found the place to set up keys to make brightness go up and down, but, strangely, it doesn’t permit you to use the two default F key alternatives. When I “type” those, nothing enters. But when I press the “fn” key and then enter F1 and F2, the values do enter. Better yet, if I then Press fn-F1 or fn-F2, the screen brightness goes up and down! Yay! But I don’t want to have to press “fn” if I don’t have to :-\
I’ll try the other one when time permits…
Thanks again.
UPDATE: issue reported to dev: Function keys as standard turned off but they don't work · MonitorControl/MonitorControl · Discussion #1458 · GitHub
The Retina Display on my very ancient MacBook Pro is still amazing. And Retinas have always been known for superior color management. It’s one the very big reasons Macs are still the weapons of choice in professional film, print, online design and video. And IIRC, Retina is what makes iPhone screens so beautiful.
Retina was another big reason Steve Jobs was able to restore Apple to profitability. Here’s his Retina debut presentation:
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Apple Studio Displays and iPhones have Retinas, and iPad Airs also have Liquid XDR Retina Displays, and iPad Pros have Liquid Retinas. The Pro Display has XDR Retina:
Okay, I tried out Lunar.
TLDR: it works: With Lunar, I can control the screen brightness using the F keys without pressing the “fn” modifier.
A few notes:
- In spite of mention of the “Free version” in the screen shot above, these are the only two options I found, neither of which sounds permanently free:
So I’m currently using the first one. Will it break after 14 days? We’ll see. It shouldn’t be this confusing to tell what I just installed and how it will behave.
- The response to the key presses is choppy and laggy. Monitor Control made brightness changes that were as smooth as butter. Lunar’s changes are perhaps quantized. But worse, the response to the keys is heavily delayed, like it thinks I’m using inertia. If I hold down the keys and then let go, the brightness keeps changing for a couple more seconds, meaning I often have to backtrack to get it where I want it to be. That’s pretty annoying, and might be worse than having to press “fn” to activate the keys.
I’ll check back in in a few days :-)
I do appreciate these tips, tho!
If my experience is any guide, then no, it will not. I think I remember wondering the same thing; it is certainly confusingly worded. I think the “14-day trial” offer specifically refers to the Pro features. At least, I never sent them any money, and I’ve been running it since February.
We have different monitors, and possibly different Macs, so YMMV I guess. For me, the response to F1 and F2 key presses is instant and relatively smooth on both monitors (MPB M1 Pro, twin LG 4K 27" monitors).
Small follow up here after a bit more testing…
The lag is if I press-and-hold the F key. Instead, if I just do repeated presses of the F keys, the brightness changes in real time with my key presses.
So it seems what happens is that if I press-and-hold the F key, it probably transmits a batch of key presses, but the brightness software can’t keep up with the changes. So when I release the key, the software plays catchup and processes the key-press events over the next second or two.
Maybe this is the fault of the (slow) CPU in my monitor?? GPU?? I don’t know what’s in there. But reminding that the MonitorControl product seems to operate in real-time without lag.
Maybe no one cares :-) I’ll probably stick with Lunar for now.
Never tried press-and-hold before. But I’d have to agree with you that is a bit choppy.
Oh, that looks very nice. Would prefer it without the matte screen though for my own personal use. Let us know how you like it.
If Apple made a less sharp edged and dangerous to hold 27 inch with about 10 USB C ports on the back, and an M4 chip, it would sell like hot cakes to graphic design programs at colleges and universities and design, advertising, and film graphics studios. Even just in general to science and other fields. 27 is the new 24 inch (or has been for about 5 years now). I see them in law firms, medical offices, all over. Most don’t have the space or ability to do two monitors. But a 27 will fit where a 24 does and covers all the bases.
Ultimately, as @Simon says, I only really ever went for the iMac because that’s how you got faster specs in a midrange box, by going bigger. It was the same way with the Intel MacBooks too, for a long time. Although I think it’s a shame this 2020 iMac can’t be repurposed as a monitor when the time comes, I don’t actually need this monitor, because I’m blind and the few cases where I’ve needed hands-on visual assistance I could have made do with a much smaller monitor. I’ll probably give this machine to my mother, assuming I don’t run it into the ground as a Windows box first.
So the question is: what do I do for mic, speakers, webcam? Those are the parts I’m interested in really. How about a smaller monitor with those features? How about the ports on rear? Though I can’t see Mac Studio or even Mini having too few ports for desktop use, the all-in-one certainly benefited from being all-inclusive in other respects. Thoughts?
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There is a lot of information about accessibility at Apple’s site:
And a heads up about Apple and accessibility from Oscar awards winner Tiaka Waititi. It really is a lovely fable.:
And also from Kim Gehrig:
There’s also an accessibility forum that includes lots of questions, answers. They also encourage feedback:
And in store accessibility workshops in Apple stores:
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There is indeed. Some of it is useful, and some of it is PR, but it’s mostly pretty good material for newcomers to the scene.
Concerning vision, in particular, AppleVis have just done its 2023 report card, if you’re interested to know what blind and low-vision people think:
But, I’m still not sure what I should do for a monitor. 
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Well, it’s really quite simple. Nothing here has changed lately. You either sell a kidney to get an Apple Studio Display or you have these two 5K displays to choose from. Both about $1k.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XV9NQSJ/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB71BY87/
And if that’s not to your liking, there’s a plethora of less expensive and yet excellent 27" 4K monitors. I personally don’t care about integrating camera and audio so I’m partial to the excellent Dell U series, like the Dell U2723QE, but there’s a near infinite selection of others to choose from.
There’s of course also Continuity Camera to use your iPhone as the camera with a camera-less display. Never tried it myself. No idea if it’s any good.
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