After acknowledging complaints about the speaker system inside the Studio Display, Apple is officially rolling out new firmware today that addresses the audio issue. Since the Studio Display runs a variant of iOS thanks to its A13 Bionic Chip, Apple can quickly issue fixes to resolve software bugs.
Apple praises the Studio Display for its cinematic sound and having the highest‑fidelity speaker system ever created for Mac. Apple even goes as far as mentioning that the Studio Display is like having your movie theater or concert hall. When you’re playing music or video with Dolby Atmos, the A13 Bionic chip works with all six speakers to create a sophisticated, cinematic soundstage.” Despite that Apple touted the Studio Display as the best display for your Mac, many users have encountered unforeseen annoyances with their purchases.
Since its launch, some customers have taken to the internet to express their frustration with the Studio Display:
“For the last month or so, the speakers on my Studio Display have been broken. Whenever I start playing music (or any other audio), it works for a few seconds and then cuts out.”
“The audio on my Studio Display fails intermittently. The only way I can get it to work again is to unplug the display overnight. That resets the display and resolves the problem temporarily. Until the next time. This is simply unacceptable for a $1600 monitor and Apple should be ashamed of the poor quality control.”
To remedy this issue, Apple released Apple Studio Display Firmware Update 15.5 through the Software Update feature on Mac. Despite running a different build identifier, 19F80, Apple did not change the version number. Apple had originally issued the 15.5 update to address issues with the camera and Center Stage after many early reviews criticized the feature due to poor camera quality.
The release notes for the firmware confirm this update is to resolve “an audio issue with Studio Display.” Apple also sent out memos to Apple Authorized Service Providers that cite specific problems such as distorted audio and random cutouts. Apple stated that a “future software update” will remedy the audio issues, hence today’s update.
If you own a Studio Display, connect the display to your Mac, and go to Settings > Software Update. If you do not see the update, restart your Mac and try again.
4 Aug 2022
The just released firmware upgrade fails.
Apple support has no way to roll it back to the previous version.
Pitiful rollout and support.
Worst experience I’ve ever had with Apple.