Apple’s 27-inch studio screen offers stunning 5K image quality and great pixel scaling for macOS computers, but it’s notorious in a number of ways: the webcam isn’t best-in-class, the 60Hz refresh rate is a bummer, it comes standard with a kickstand that can only be tilted (the VESA mount is an extra cost), and the usual $1,599 price is steep. However, it is priced more sensibly now at Amazon, priced at $1,299.99. Costco is also offering a similar deal (through Slick deals). Go to Apple’s revamped online store if you want to peek discounts on other variants of the Studio Display.
It’s good timing for this discount, as January 26 is the release day for Apple’s updated Mac Mini and MacBook Pro models with the M2 and M2 Pro chips.
In our review, Forget editor-in-chief Nilay Patel praised the built-in microphone and the quality of the speakers, but pointed out other features that are at the heart of the Studio Display’s value proposition. The webcam is probably not as good as you’d like it to be, despite being updated post-launch. Also, the screen – sharp as it is – lacks features we expect in monitors at this price, such as HDR, local dimming and variable refresh rate. It’s a good monitor, just know what you’re getting into. You might also want to read why we’re particularly excited about upcoming monitors from Dell and Samsung that might eat up Apple’s lunch. Read our review.
ID card love to follow up this deal with something drastically more affordable, but today’s loot is aimed at people who have a fat wad of cash to burn. TCL’s 6-Series 65-inch 4K QLED TV with built-in Google TV streaming software is on clearance at Best Buy for $699.99. This low price isn’t exactly new, but it’s possible that time is running out to buy this TV before it’s replaced by TCL’s 2023 offerings we heard about at CES 2023.
For the price, it’s an incredible deal as the panel has Mini LED backlighting, lighting up any scene significantly brighter and more accurately thanks to its 360 local dimming zones. It has other impressive specs such as HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming with 4K at 120Hz refresh rate in games that support it and offers variable refresh rate (VRR) to reduce screen tearing when console or PC performance takes a hit.
The elusive $249.99 deal on the 10.9-inch ninth-generation iPad has not returned, but walmart and Best Buy let this model sell for just $20 more – still a great deal! In case you didn’t know, this 2021 model is no longer the latest version, following the late 2022 launch of the $449 10th Gen iPad with a refreshed (iPad Air-esque) design and USB-C charging. However, that doesn’t mean that this older version is drastically worse across the board. In fact, you get the same amount of storage space and only slightly slower performance (the newer version has an A14 Bionic versus this A13 Bionic), and this discounted version has a 3.5mm jack to make plugging in headphones easier.
