Skip to main content

Studio Display suffering audio issues, Apple acknowledges

Over the last few months, a growing number of users of Apple’s new Studio Display have been complaining about issues with the monitor’s audio performance.

According to a slew of social media posts on the matter, the Studio Display’s audio problems include the sound suddenly cutting out, coming out distorted, and speeding up.

Recommended Videos

Although the company has made no public comment about the issue, Apple has finally acknowledged it, according to the content of a memo to authorized service providers that’s been seen by MacRumors.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

In the memo, the tech giant insists that the $1599 Studio Display’s audio problem is not related to the monitor’s hardware, indicating that a software update will eventually sort it out.

It also suggests a temporary fix while its engineers fully investigate the issue. It involves disconnecting the monitor from the power supply and removing any accessories or devices that are connected to it. After that, users are told to wait 10 seconds before connecting the Studio Display to power again.

Among a slew of online posts about the Studio Display’s current troubles, one owner said the problem had been persisting “for days,” while another described the audio as “choppy.”

In another message, a Studio Display user said the audio “fails intermittently,” and a different person said it was “weird to have to reboot a display” to fix the problem.

Regarding the audio issues, we’ve reached out to Apple to find out how it plans to resolve the problem and we will update this article when we hear back.

Worryingly, this isn’t the first issue to hit Apple’s 27-inch, 5K Studio Display since its release in March.

Early reviews of the pricey monitor included complaints about the built-in webcam’s lousy picture quality, with one writer likening the image to that of an “old BlackBerry” due to its grainy and washed-out look.

Apple quickly responded, saying that it had found “an issue where the system is not behaving as expected.” The company eventually rolled out an update to enhance the picture quality, though the general consensus appeared to be that the improvement was subtle rather than striking.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Apple quietly backtracks on the MacBook Air’s biggest issue
The MacBook Air on a white table.

The new MacBook Air with M3 chip not only allows you to use it with two external displays, but it has also reportedly addressed a storage problem that plagued the previous M2 model. The laptop now finally has much faster storage performance since Apple has switched back to using two 128GB NAND modules instead of a single 256GB module on the SSD drive.

This was discovered by the YouTuber Max Tech, who tore down the entry-level model of the MacBook Air M3 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. In his tests, thanks to the two NAND modules, the M3 MacBook Air is nearly double faster than the M2 MacBook Air. Blackmagic Disk Speed tests show that the older M2 model with the problematic NAND chip had a 1584.3 Mb/s write speed, and the newer M3 model had 2108.9 Mb/s for the M3 model, for a 33% difference. In read speeds, it was 1576.4 Mb/s on the old model and 2880.2 Mb/s on the newer model.

Read more
Why I went with the MacBook Pro over the Mac Studio
Apple MacBook Pro 16 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

A few weeks ago, I decided to migrate to all-Apple computing. It's been a fascinating journey and certainly not a straight line, with several unanticipated twists. Perhaps the biggest is an about-face when it comes to my main PC.

I had fully intended to replace my workhorse Windows desktop with Apple's most powerful, yet accessible desktop, the Mac Studio. That seemed entirely logical: a desktop PC should replace a desktop PC. As it turns out, however, Apple's MacBook Pro 16 better fits my needs. The reason why involves a lot of personal decision-making that hopefully you'll be able to relate to as you map out your own computing needs.
The M3 Max made me wonder

Read more
How to configure a Mac Studio that’s right for you
Apple Mac Studio top down view showing PC and keyboard.

Apple's Mac Studio is an elegantly designed desktop PC that fits into tight spaces. It's also one of the quietest desktops you'll find, making it an unobtrusive choice, while also providing surprisingly fast performance.

But while the Mac Studio offers decent connectivity, it's also a sealed enclosure with zero expandability. What you order is what you'll have forever, so choosing carefully when configuring your Mac Studio is vital. This guide will help you make the right decisions.
Specs and configurations

Read more