Homemade Apple Studio Display for just $600 (video)

YouTube blogger Luke Miani conducted an interesting experiment and proved that you can assemble an “apple” Studio Display monitor yourself with good savings compared to the official cost.

As a hardware base for an enthusiast monitorI used a 2014 iMac monoblock bought from my hands. Having removed “unnecessary” components from it, he installed a non-standard controller in the case for the correct operation of the backlight and direct video signal transmission via a USB Type-C cable. Instead of having a stock webcam connected to the motherboard, he also had to use a third party solution on a Raspberry Pi.

Upon completion of the assembly, the homemade display turned out to befully functional, although somewhat different from the Studio Display in terms of characteristics. Its maximum brightness was slightly lower, and it does not support the DCI-P3 color space. However, according to the author of the video, it will be difficult for an ordinary user to notice such subtleties. Another subjective disadvantage of the monitor is much wider display frames.

Summing up the video, the blogger noted that"Manufacturing" the monitor by hand allowed him to save a significant amount: the cost was only $600 instead of $1599. Later iMacs with better screen specs can be used as an alternative, as long as you can get them at a reasonable price, he says.