This is the Best display I have personally used with a Mac and you probably can’t get one.
Hey, Im Jerry and yep, this is the best monitor under $1000 you can
buy for your Mac. Well……probably can’t buy. But you probably want this display.
This Eve Spectrum is a 27” display that packs almost everything you would want into a display
that runs under $1000. It is the first display I have used that either meets or exceeds
what I get from iMac displays and I like it a lot!
This is a full IPS display running at 3840x2160 resolution, it has HDR with
a peak brightness of 750nits, 98% P3 wide color calibrated out of the box,
G sync and free sync compatible, 1ms response rate and 144hz refresh rate.
There are 2 HDMI2.1 inputs, a DisplayPort 1.4 input, USB A and C inputs, audio out,
and a 10gbps USBC connection with 100w power delivery for a 1 cable connection to a MacBook.
Now this does not come cheap but its also not a $5000 Pro Display XDR either. This display
goes for $800 on Eve’s website. And that does not include the stand which runs another $100
but the stand is also really nice! It actually allows for a good range of height adjustments,
tilts, and even a full 90º rotation if that’s what you need.
But let me just say that this display looks amazing,
just incredible both in picture quality and physical design. The frame is just
plain black without any branding or stupid LEDs, the bezels are thin and modern, and the
whole casing is pretty thin. Without the stand it looks like a Pro Display XDR from the front.
The stand is simple and sturdy. It's just a super clean
overall design that fits what I am looking for in a desktop monitor.
And I will point out that there are other monitors with similar specs on the market or even ones made
specifically for the Mac. But those other 4k displays look ugly, or have really ugly stands.
They do not get as bright as this Eve does, don’t all offer the same color accuracy, etc.
As for the LG ultrafine displays that were built in partnership with apple back in 2016, they look
dated, the stand is wobbly and they just do not fully match the picture quality of an iMac.
There are a LOT of things to like about this display, starting with the 144hz refresh rate.
Yep, I can get the full 144hz refresh rate on my MacBook Pro…And even my MacBook Air
M1. Similar to the high refresh rate of the new MacBook Pros, What that means in reality is you
get a super clean display that stays sharp even when moving things around the display.
Just like how retina displays have ruined other full hd or quad hd displays for me,
the liquid retina XDR displays on the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and iPhone 13 pro
have now ruined 60hz for me. Everything just looks so smoooooooth on a high refresh display and now
being able to have it for my desk setup completes my transition.
I dont want to look at any low res or lower refresh rate displays anymore. Ever.
FYI, I did have to use a Windows computer to update the firmware to version 105
before I could get the 144hz to the mac. I will leave a link below to that firmware but depending
on when the display was manufactured you may need to update the firmware before it works fully.
And if you like to play games on your mac this display can
match the frame rate you are playing at.
Next, there is the 98% DPI-P3 color that's calibrated right out of the box. This makes
color grading videos and photos so nice because I know that what I am looking at is really what
it should look like. No more constantly dragging the window to the macbook display
to verify colors or ending up with a much different color output then what I intended.
I have tried a lot of displays over the last few years but this is the one
that most resembled the colors and brightness of a Mac display.
BenQ came close with a specific color profile called mbook mode but it just want quite there.
Just look at this side by side shot with the MacBook Pro. They look fantastic together
and all I did was a minor adjustment to the white balance on the display itself.
Even the LG ultrafine 5k doesn't come close to the macbook compared to the Eve.
As far as brightness goes, it gets up to 450nits for standard content
which is slightly lower than the 500nits of the macbook, imac, or lg ultrafine display…..but have
you ever worked at 500nits for a long time? It hurts. But the ability to get close to it if
needed for a period of time is nice when most displays at this price top out around 350 nits.
Then there is HDR which can go up to 750 nits which looks surprisingly good on here AND
it has 16 local dimming zones when in HDR…….but there is a small issue with that. As you can see
16 zones is really not enough for a display like this because you can clearly see
the backlights turn on and off as an object moves around the display.
Im my regular use of the display. I dont use the HDR
but it's nice to have it if I do want to watch an HDR video on the display.
Then, there is the resolution and this is the one place where the iMac display
edges above the Eve. . This is a 4k panel which obviously is not the same as a 5k so it's not
quite as sharp. The Eve comes in at 166 PPI vs the iMac 5k at 226 ppi.
When running a 5k display and a 4k display at the same scaled resolution of 2560 by 1440
you can see the 5k display is slightly sharper when zoomed in. In regular use of them side by
side it is difficult to make out the difference. But, If I had to choose between 4k 144hz
or 5k at 60hz, I think the high refresh rate wins out for me. 4k is pretty sharp and ideally I would
like a 5k high refresh rate but we will have to wait and see what Apple does in the future.
So, im my opinion, this is the best external display I have used on a Mac yet and
I totally think it is worth the $800 price tag
when you consider everything we just talked about. Clean modern design,
Check. Color accuracy, check, brightness, check, single cable for display and charging, check!
But, I did say that you probably cant get one So let me tell you about issues
trying to get this monitor.
There is a long history with the company Eve. I wont pretend to be an expert on it
and the short story is that this display was originally a crowd funded display
promising all the best specs for a much cheaper price than the competitors.
They actually even made a crowd funded clone of the Microsoft surface before this. But the
problem here is that even though you can order this on their website you may never receive it.
There are some YouTubers out there who were sent an Eve display for review and
they all mentioned this information about the eve display availability but I went
ahead and ordered one in October thinking it must all be overblown or fixed by then.
When I ordered I paid the $100 deposit. Not too many days after I got an email saying the order
was just about ready to ship and I needed to pay the balance. I promptly did that then nothing.
I emailed them in November and they said due to a system error the order
would be delayed until January. I asked to cancel the order and heard nothing.
In January I emailed asking for an update and they said it would shipping late January and
I asked again to cancel the order, which they finally did.
So, It is possible that my order would have shipped in January,
or most likely not. But, being an enterprising fellow I of course checked eBay. Over a few
weeks different listings would come and go and I was finally able to snag one for just $700,
including the stand. So if $800 is a good price plus $100 for the stand then I think that $700
all in was a freaking bargain so check the link below to see if there are any available now.
Overall, this is an amazing display and the single best external display I have used with a Mac,
personally. There may be other high end displays like the pro display XDR or the asus pro art but
those are many thousands of dollars. I am super happy with this purchase and I do recommend this
display, if you can get one. But what do you think? Are you waiting to see what apple does
at their next event? Let me know below. Be sure to hit subscribe and get those notifications for all
the videos coming next month which might include new macs, displays, ipads, or whatever else.
Hit the thumbs up button if you liked it, hit subscribe if you want and Ill see you next time.