It has been nearly three years since Apple released the Studio Display. Below, we recap rumors about a potential next-generation model.
Apple released the Studio Display in March 2022 alongside the Mac Studio. The standalone display features a 27-inch LCD screen with 5K resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, up to 600 nits brightness, a built-in camera and speakers, one Thunderbolt 3 port, and three USB-C ports. In the U.S., the Studio Display continues to start at $1,599.
There have been on-again, off-again rumors about Apple planning a new 27-inch external display with mini-LED backlighting, which would allow for increased brightness and higher contrast ratio compared to the current Studio Display. In April 2023, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the display was slated for mass production in 2024 or early 2025. However, it is unclear if that remains Apple's plan.
In November 2024, an anonymous listener of the Relay FM tech podcast "Upgrade" claimed that Apple was developing 90Hz display technology that could be used for the next Studio Display. This higher refresh rate would make content like videos and text while scrolling look smoother to the eye, but 90Hz would stop short of the 120Hz refresh rate that iPhones and Macs with ProMotion support can achieve. It would nonetheless be an improvement.
It is not clear to us if the anonymous tipster has a proven track record with Apple rumors.
That's all we have currently for Studio Display rumors. Given that Apple's higher-end Pro Display XDR was released in 2019, and still has not received any hardware upgrades, it is quite possible that the Studio Display could also linger without upgrades for at least a few more years. Hopefully, though, Apple delivers something sooner.
