Pro Display XDR: Hands-on with Apple's new $5,000 6K monitor

Apple is back in the computer monitor business. Today at WWDC 2019 the company announced a new monitor targeted toward pro users -- the same folks who might want to buy the powerful new Mac Pro computer.

Read more: Apple Pro Display XDR is Apple's insane new 6K monitor, starts at $5,000

Called the Pro Display XDR, it starts at $5,000, a fitting companion for the $6,000 starting price of the Mac Pro. And yes, there's an optional stand for another grand. All three will be available in fall, 2019.

Apple likened the new display to professional reference monitors in the $40,000 price range, with brightness so "extreme" it had to replace the "H" with an "X" in the product name. 

It's got four USB-C ports: one is Thunderbolt 3 (96W host charging), three are USB 2-compatible.

The display is 31.6 inches diagonal, 28.3 inches wide, and 16.2 inches high.

Resolution is an incredible 6,016x3,384, which is why Apple is calling it a 6K display. 

It boasts 1,000 nits brightness (1,600 nits peak), and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Other key specs: 

• 576 zones of full-array local dimming
• P3 color gamut with 10-bit capability
• Low reflectivity with matte screen finish option

The monitor's chief feature is high-dynamic range, aka HDR. Doing HDR correctly requires a lot of horsepower to illuminate the screen, and the XDR monitor can get exceedingly bright -- and stay that way. Apple says an advanced cooling system can maintain its 1,000 nits brightness "indefinitely." 

You can daisy-chain multiple Pro Displays together, too.

Oh, and about that stand.

The stand will cost you an additional $1,000. (Yes, really.)

It does, however, allow landscape or portrait orientation. (Coders love portrait.)

If the $1,000 stand (shown here) is too much for you, you can opt for the $200 VESA Mount Adapter instead.

But hey: If you're gonna get a $5,000 monitor and a $6,000 computer, you can afford a $1,000 monitor stand, right?

Read more: Apple WWDC 2019: iOS 13 dark mode, Mac Pro, MacOS 10.15 and everything Apple just announced