Apple issues beta firmware update for Studio Display

AppleInsider

Apple has issued beta firmware for the Studio Display, an update that brings the software of the monitor up to version 16.4.

Apple Studio Display

Surfacing late on Friday, users of the macOS Ventura 13.3 beta are now able to install an update to a connected Studio Display. The beta firmware only applies to Mac users who are using the beta of macOS Ventura 13.3, not non-beta versions.

Beta users who own a Studio Display can refresh the firmware to the beta edition by going to System Settings on their Mac then Software Update to check that it is available and can be installed.

At the time of publication, Apple hasn't detailed exactly what is in the firmware beta, except that it is for version 16.4 of the software running the display, and that it is 641.4MB in size.

It is plausible that the firmware beta handles bug or security fixes, increasing compatibility with the newest Apple releases, and possibly performance improvements.

Apple's previous firmware update for the Studio Display was version 15.5, which landed in August 2022. That firmware fixed speaker issues, with sound occasionally failing for some users.

Read on AppleInsider

saarek

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

I’ve got a 30” Cinema Display, apart from occasionally having to buy a new adaptor for whatever the latest port is it’s never missed a beat and is still gorgeous to look at to this day. No hassles with firmware, or software updates. No worrying about whether any of said updates would improve image quality, it was tested and perfect when it left the factory and still is.

Same with my 24” LED Cinema Display. It has a webcam and speakers and doesn’t need all these constant updates.

Why does a display have to cost hundreds more just because Apple wants to shove an iPhone in there too. Crazy.

timmillea

Agreed Saarek. The most irritating thing to me is endless updates. A manufacturer should be able to prove that a product meets its specifications upon release and leave it at that, forever. 

I don't have Microsoft software on my Mac for this very reason - except that Microsoft took over the To Do app when I was heavily invested in it. Now 'Microsoft To Do' needs updating several times a week.

There should be an absolute ban on updates unless the updated app can be proved to be correct and even then, once once a year.  

stabitha_christie

The hysteria over a handful of updates for a product that people don't even own is hilarious. 

saarek

Stabitha_Christie said:

The hysteria over a handful of updates for a product that people don't even own is hilarious. 

Who is being hysterical? Do you disagree that the prior Cinema Displays I referred to did indeed ship, work perfectly from day one and not require updates to perform their function?

The Studio Display has had numerous issues, from the webcam to the speakers, problems with some not turning on or randomly rebooting, etc. That's what happens when you take something simple, like a display, and make it all unnecessarily complicated.

Of course you presumably disagree with me on this and therefore think I am being hysterical, whereas in reality I am simply pointing out the absurdity of the situation.

edited February 2023

macxpress

saarek said:

Stabitha_Christie said:

The hysteria over a handful of updates for a product that people don't even own is hilarious. 

Who is being hysterical? 

Basically everyone here....

vinnie-bob

Seriously…since I got mine, just one update to install and it has worked perfectly for me. Sounds great, great screen, I can't complain. I was one of the first to order the LG 4K monitor back in the day when Apple didn't make a 4K model and instead worked with LG…I spent 4 hours trying to get it to work with my laptop and sent it back that same day. So yes, you CAN have a monitor which does not have an "iPad in it", which suffers problems as well. That LG in its first iteration was a piece of junk.

hmlongco

saarek said:

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

If you think ANY modern monitor DOESN'T have a CPU inside of it I think I have to question your reasoning ability.

I mean, what do you think runs the onscreen display and menus for volume, brightness, and so on? Fairies?

edited February 2023

saarek

hmlongco said:

saarek said:

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

If you think ANY modern monitor DOESN'T have a CPU inside of it I think I have to question your reasoning ability.

I mean, what do you think runs the onscreen display and menus for volume, brightness, and so on? Fairies?

Did I state anywhere in my original post that the 30" Cinema Display, or indeed the 24" LED Cinema Display did not have various Chips inside of it? The central point remains, when that Original Cinema Display shipped to customers it was perfect on day one and has never required any kind of bug fixing. The same with the 24" LED Cinema Display.

They've taken a relatively simply device and made it complicated for no reason.

Your oven almost certainly has chips for it's clock display, etc, perhaps oven Manufacturers should start building in a whole computer and start sending firmware updates out for it too!

lkrupp

Bottom line, Saarek, those days are long gone and not coming back. You can ‘wish’ all you want. There are NO monitors or TVs on the market today that don’t have firmware. Even the cheapest no name brand at Walmart has firmware to support modern video formats like HDR and such. 

You can also wish automobiles still had carburetors and spark distributors too instead of the firmware that runs them these days. The simple days no longer exist.

strangedays

saarek said:

Stabitha_Christie said:

The hysteria over a handful of updates for a product that people don't even own is hilarious. 

Who is being hysterical? Do you disagree that the prior Cinema Displays I referred to did indeed ship, work perfectly from day one and not require updates to perform their function?

The Studio Display has had numerous issues, from the webcam to the speakers, problems with some not turning on or randomly rebooting, etc. That's what happens when you take something simple, like a display, and make it all unnecessarily complicated.

Of course you presumably disagree with me on this and therefore think I am being hysterical, whereas in reality I am simply pointing out the absurdity of the situation.

Counterpoint: you don’t even own this monitor that you’re complaining about. 

filemakerfeller

saarek said:

hmlongco said:

saarek said:

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

If you think ANY modern monitor DOESN'T have a CPU inside of it I think I have to question your reasoning ability.

I mean, what do you think runs the onscreen display and menus for volume, brightness, and so on? Fairies?

Did I state anywhere in my original post that the 30" Cinema Display, or indeed the 24" LED Cinema Display did not have various Chips inside of it? The central point remains, when that Original Cinema Display shipped to customers it was perfect on day one and has never required any kind of bug fixing. The same with the 24" LED Cinema Display.

They've taken a relatively simply device and made it complicated for no reason.

Your oven almost certainly has chips for it's clock display, etc, perhaps oven Manufacturers should start building in a whole computer and start sending firmware updates out for it too!

[emphasis added]

They've made it complicated for a set of reasons they find compelling. They haven't shared those reasons with the wider world (what's new?) but they haven't made such a substantial change without developing a set of trade-offs that they feel is in the user's best interest (which they can be wrong about).

My own hunch is that the GPU in the SoC they include with the display does a huge amount of work. But I've not been interested enough to try and find out the technical details.

dewme

timmillea said:

Agreed Saarek. The most irritating thing to me is endless updates. A manufacturer should be able to prove that a product meets its specifications upon release and leave it at that, forever. 

I don't have Microsoft software on my Mac for this very reason - except that Microsoft took over the To Do app when I was heavily invested in it. Now 'Microsoft To Do' needs updating several times a week.           
There should be an absolute ban on updates unless the updated app can be proved to be correct and even then, once once a year.  

I assume you're joking because what you're proposing is practically impossible and completely impractical for products that are software/firmware controlled. Software and embedded software, aka firmware, is ubiquitous and nearly infinitely modifiable. Heck, even Apple's MagSafe 3 charging cable got a firmware update recently. Software is everywhere. We're not talking about bricks, hammers, and dog bowls.  

Once per year update? I certainly don't want to wait a year for a software update to patch a software or firmware bug, especially when it's a security issue. I want those updates right now, or better yet, fixed in an update that's pushed out without me knowing about the issue that it fixes. 

A lot of software/firmware controlled products are in a constant state of enhancement, development, refinement, and continuing support. This generally continues iteratively for as long as the organization that created the product wants to keep in on the market, harvest its value (like cold hard cash), and support its users. The days of once per year (or similarly long cycles) of software releases with much pomp and ceremony are largely an artifact of history and not nearly as common as are the continuous development, continuous testing, and continuous release models used for software product development.

Sure, there are some regulated industries like Pharma, chemicals, life sciences, and refineries that do essentially "lock down" their systems at a point in time, usually after having verified and certified that the system as-built and as-certified will be used without modification for some minimum and possibly maximum period of time. For these locked-downed systems to work, their owner must minimize, eliminate, or compensate/account for anything that is outside of their direct control. This may include, for example, pre-purchasing many years worth of consumables and spare parts, licensing source code, entering into lifecycle support contracts with the vendor, buying tools, and even hiring/training people who can take ownership of the system if the original owner is no longer able to fulfill their responsibilities for whatever reasons.

The Apple Studio Display is not in this latter category.

saarek

StrangeDays said:

saarek said:

Stabitha_Christie said:

The hysteria over a handful of updates for a product that people don't even own is hilarious. 

Who is being hysterical? Do you disagree that the prior Cinema Displays I referred to did indeed ship, work perfectly from day one and not require updates to perform their function?

The Studio Display has had numerous issues, from the webcam to the speakers, problems with some not turning on or randomly rebooting, etc. That's what happens when you take something simple, like a display, and make it all unnecessarily complicated.

Of course you presumably disagree with me on this and therefore think I am being hysterical, whereas in reality I am simply pointing out the absurdity of the situation.

Counterpoint: you don’t even own this monitor that you’re complaining about. 

You're right, I don't. I own the Pro Display XDR, so this would be a huge step down from that. I kept the 30" Cinema Display because it's still gorgeous to look at to this day, is in mint condition and lets me play around with my old PowerMac G5, what can I say, I'm nostalgic.

It is true that my XDR Display has received two firmware updates that I am aware of, however both of these were related to adding increased functionality as opposed to fixing issues that should not have been present in the first place.

I suppose my primary concern with the current Studio Display (and the path that Apple is taking with the talked about refresh of the XDR display this year) is that they effectively released it half baked and relied on fixing it later via patches. All of my previous Apple Displays have all shipped in perfect functionality from day one, including the XDR display and I have never been afraid of paying for a quality product that works.

I was not impacted by the issues of the Studio Display it's true, but my best friend, a web designer, was. So yes, I personally wish they'd just leave the design as it was.

edited February 2023

saarek

lkrupp said:

Bottom line, Saarek, those days are long gone and not coming back. You can ‘wish’ all you want. There are NO monitors or TVs on the market today that don’t have firmware. Even the cheapest no name brand at Walmart has firmware to support modern video formats like HDR and such. 

You can also wish automobiles still had carburetors and spark distributors too instead of the firmware that runs them these days. The simple days no longer exist.

I suppose you are right lkrupp, it's not like I will have a choice anyway. I have nothing against firmware updates, especially when they bring increased functionality such as has been the case with my XDR Display. But I do object to Apple releasing a display with Apple Silicon that is buggered from day one and needs updates just to use it's core functions correctly, speakers, webcam, display. That's just unacceptable.

edited February 2023

fastasleep

saarek said:

hmlongco said:

saarek said:

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

If you think ANY modern monitor DOESN'T have a CPU inside of it I think I have to question your reasoning ability.

I mean, what do you think runs the onscreen display and menus for volume, brightness, and so on? Fairies?

Did I state anywhere in my original post that the 30" Cinema Display, or indeed the 24" LED Cinema Display did not have various Chips inside of it? The central point remains, when that Original Cinema Display shipped to customers it was perfect on day one and has never required any kind of bug fixing. The same with the 24" LED Cinema Display.

What a weird hill to die on, given a cursory web search would prove your hypothesis wrong:

Here's the 24" LED Cinema Display firmware update:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/09/29/apple_issues_fix_for_flickering_issue_with_24_cinema_display_and_thunderbolt

And the rest for various other models before and after:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/22/apples_soon_to_arrive_27_in_cinema_display_gets_software_updates
https://appleinsider.com/articles/10/12/16/apple_updates_cinema_display_firmware_to_fix_audio_issue
https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/12/12/itunes_10_5_2_released_thunderbolt_display_firmware_updated
https://appleinsider.com/articles/14/11/13/apple-seeds-safari-801-711-and-621-betas-releases-thunderbolt-display-firmware-12

saarek

fastasleep said:

saarek said:

hmlongco said:

saarek said:

I wish Apple could go back to the good old days where a monitor was just a monitor and everything just worked.

If you think ANY modern monitor DOESN'T have a CPU inside of it I think I have to question your reasoning ability.

I mean, what do you think runs the onscreen display and menus for volume, brightness, and so on? Fairies?

Did I state anywhere in my original post that the 30" Cinema Display, or indeed the 24" LED Cinema Display did not have various Chips inside of it? The central point remains, when that Original Cinema Display shipped to customers it was perfect on day one and has never required any kind of bug fixing. The same with the 24" LED Cinema Display.

What a weird hill to die on, given a cursory web search would prove your hypothesis wrong:

Here's the 24" LED Cinema Display firmware update:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/09/29/apple_issues_fix_for_flickering_issue_with_24_cinema_display_and_thunderbolt

And the rest for various other models before and after:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/22/apples_soon_to_arrive_27_in_cinema_display_gets_software_updates
https://appleinsider.com/articles/10/12/16/apple_updates_cinema_display_firmware_to_fix_audio_issue
https://appleinsider.com/articles/11/12/12/itunes_10_5_2_released_thunderbolt_display_firmware_updated
https://appleinsider.com/articles/14/11/13/apple-seeds-safari-801-711-and-621-betas-releases-thunderbolt-display-firmware-12

The issue with that particular 24" LED Display was with Thunderbolt, a standard that simply did not exist when the display was on the market. The first mac with Thunderbolt came out a year after Apple had already discontinued this display and it was that Mac that had the issue. A bit hard to compare a monitor that needed a firmware update to fully work with a new standard as opposed to a display that had issues out of the box...

edited February 2023