Reportedly, Apple Service Centers can replace the Studio Display’s ‘built-in’ stands

According to a rumour from MacRumors, which cites confidential Apple papers, workers at Apple Stores or Authorized Service Providers will be able to modify which stand is attached to the Studio Display’s. Despite a caution on Apple’s “Buy Apple” website that says you must choose a stand at the time of purchase since they’re “built-in” and “not interchangeable,” this appears to be the case. The Studio Display’s comes with three different stand options from Apple.

Without spending anything more, you can obtain either the conventional stand with tilt adjustments or the VESA adapter for mounting the display to third-party arms. A height-adjustable stand from Apple will set you back $400. Apple claims you have to chose when you buy the monitor, but according to MacRumors, you’ll be able to pay to upgrade the stands later if you change your mind or get a new desk layout.

Apple has yet to react to The Verge’s request for comment on the accuracy of these reports. With the Studio Display’s, discrepancies between what Apple says and reality appear to be a frustrating pattern. The monitor’s power cable is said to be non-removable on Apple’s “Important handling information for Apple Studio Display’s” website, although The Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel and YouTuber Linus Tech Tips have already proved that it can be removed.

Umar Shakir of the Verge points out that the hinge looks a lot like the one on Apple’s Cinema HD Display from the early 2000s, at least from the outside. According to an old copy of a service manual, changing the monitor’s stand was as simple as undoing two screws, suggesting one way Apple could have made the Studio Display’s stand user-replaceable.