Amidst the array of eagerly-anticipated announcements during the recent 2019 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple released the professional-grade, professional-priced Pro Display XDR, alongside the Mac Pro.
Perhaps the most discussed topic of the WWDC 2019, Apple’s Pro Stand has certainly generated discussion (to put it nicely). It retails for US$999 (about RM4,153) and is sold separately from the Pro Display XDR.
Remember, the Pro Stand is a mandatory requirement, unless you opt for the VESA mount adapter (US$200, about RM831) that will hook up with a standard VESA mount.
MSI recently joined in, poking fun at Apple with an ad that draws comparisons between MSI’s upcoming 5K display and Apple’s Pro Stand—the display costs US$300 more than the stand.
Let that sink in.
Originally posted on MSI Australia’s Twitter account, the ad bears a striking resemblance to Apple’s own ‘I’m a Mac’ adverts that aired a number of years ago (remember all those Justin Long videos?).
Not exactly accurate
While the post is definitely good for laughs, MSI’s post isn’t exactly accurate, however. Firstly, the display, while slightly larger at 34-inches, doesn’t have the exact same number of pixels as a typical 5K display (such as the iMac 5K) would have—5120 × 2880.
While both the MSI Prestige and the iMac 5K are technically 5K displays, the MSI panel has fewer pixels than your typical 5K display because it has a 21:9 aspect ratio.
These are otherwise known as ultra-wide monitors so the MSI display only pushes 5120×2160 pixels compared to the 5120×2880 pixels a conventional 16:9 panel pushes. This means that the display only has the same amount of vertical pixels as a typical 4K display.
Utilising USB-C instead of Thunderbolt 3, MSI’s monitor also falls short in build quality. While the Prestige looks pretty damn good in MSI’s original Tweet, images shared by users on Twitter proved the opposite.
Despite all of that, MSI has still made a relevant point with the post. After all, the image compares the MSI Prestige to a monitor stand. And the prices aren’t dissimilar.
MSI’s new Prestige PS341WU isn’t released yet, and is expected to be released sometime in 2020.