iFixit Teardown: Studio Display Features iMac-Like Internal Setup

Apple earlier in March released the Studio Display, its first standalone display since the Pro Display XDR. iFixit today disassembled the Studio Display in a video teardown to give us a look at the internals.


The inside of the Studio Display may be confusing at first because it has an internal setup that's not too dissimilar from a computer like the Intel iMac, thanks to the inclusion of an A13 chip, speakers, and fans. Several iFixit staff members were shown an opened up ‌iMac‌ and a Studio Display and asked to determine which was which, and many of them got it wrong.

The Studio Display opens up with an ‌iMac‌ opening tool, so it's easy to get to the components inside. iFixit last week gave a quick look at the Studio Display in its Mac Studio teardown, and confirmed at that time that the Studio Display Camera is essentially identical to the iPhone 11 camera.

There's no internal indicator of why the Studio Display camera has been experiencing quality issues, and Apple has promised a software fix that's coming in the future.

The Studio Display is using the exact same display as the 5K ‌iMac‌, and there's an internal power supply, which iFixit says is an impressive feat of engineering. The internal power supply makes the Studio Display different from the ‌iMac‌ because it requires massive fans for heat dissipation, plus it requires a ~50 percent thicker chassis.

The speakers are "impressive for a display," and are glued down, which will make the speaker hardware difficult to remove. According to iFixit, the Studio Display's build in general is an "impressive testament to Apple's ability to solve problems."

iFixit has not yet shared a full written teardown of the Mac Studio or the Studio Display, so there could still be a few additional tidbits to discover when the complete teardowns are available in the future.

Related Forum: Mac Accessories

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
mail categories macos

Apple's Redesigned Mail App is Expanding to the Mac — Here's When

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April. The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

Realityck Avatar
37 months ago

Why not just make it an iMac.
Better yet a 27” iMac that could also be used as a 27” 5K display if needed.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sracer Avatar
37 months ago

Better yet a 27” iMac that could also be used as a 27” 5K display if needed.
This.

My old 2013 21' iMac had its internal hard drive fail (1TB spinner) but I was able to repurpose it as my Plex server by adding an external SSD. (the thing runs an order of magnitude faster than when it was new) And I bought a 2nd iMac in 2017 to replace it as my desktop system... but I use that older iMac as a 2nd monitor via "target display mode".

I love how that older iMac is serving two functions simultaneously (Plex server AND 2nd display).



Attachment Image
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vercordio Avatar
37 months ago
All of that power for… what exactly?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unregistered 4U Avatar
37 months ago

All of that power for… what exactly?
$1,599 :)
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jaro65 Avatar
37 months ago
Why not just make it an iMac.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
37 months ago
The ASD, at some point, was clearly an iMac 27" design

This is such overkill on the guts and the chassis for what the released product is.

Apple doesn't do overkill like this.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)