Apple is 'Ramping Up' Work on a New Studio Display

[JordanCautious]

If they make it above 60hz, I'll buy it. I'm currently using a 34" HP Omen Ultrawide Monitor that's 3440x1440 and 165hz. Works like a DREAM! But I also saw the current Studio Display in the store and it looked pretty good. Only way I would purchase it is if they increase the hz.

 

[Lioness~]

Ok, now I’m gonna do it right.
I wait for this, and I buy another ASD, as the one I already have, at a cheaper price.
I’m more than satisfied with my 1st one, so at a lower price, I’ll buy a twin.
Don’t want a bigger one on my desk.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Would cost more than the XDR display.

Extremely unlikely.

 

[hans1972]

This shouldn't take this long to swap in new tech to a "similar design" at the same "27 inch size"

Apple doesn't work by the mantra of "getting technology out there as fast as possible". Also Apple teams are usually extremely small and not dedicated to a particular product.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have one group who works on all the displays for Apple and that there is less parallelism involved than people might think. They might work on the a MacBook Pro Display, then move over to a MBA display and then working on this display almost serially.

 

[hans1972]

A year to develop a new 27" monitor, insane. What is going on at Apple these days. The rate of innovation is basically zero.

Apple isn't trying to be fast or first. This probably has a deadline to coincide with the release of a new Mac Studio or at least not to far after.

They have probably assigned just a few people (Apple is notorious for their small teams) to it and it's likely a low priority. If those people is needed for work on a MacBook display, they will get pulled away.

Making a 27" mini-LED monitor isn't innovation at all. There probably exist at least 20 such monitors already.

 

[hans1972]

Nobody is forcing them to be in the monitor business. They should outsource mice and keyboards to Logitech while they're at it.

You can just buy keyboard, mice and monitors from others. It isn't important if Apple makes good products for you since there are so many alternatives available.

There are at least 15-20 mini-led monitors being sold now, and some of them even have 240 Hz refresh rate.

 

[bLackjackj]

I would have thought that this BIGGEST news story here, was that Bloomberg have now released the Gurman newsletter for FREE once again.

It seems that the uptake in subs wasent worth the loss in newsletter subs and Bloomberg are once again providing the newsletter for free. The masses have spoken.

 

[picpicmac]

innovation

A word with no meaning anymore, among computer nerd forums.

It's just virtue signalling at this point, among the usual whinings.

 

[picpicmac]

Nobody is forcing them to be in the monitor business.

Apple is not in the display business.

The ASD is the top half of a Macintosh computer. That's what it is, that's what it was always supposed to be.

If someone doesn't realize that then they simply haven't read the material and looked at Apple's own website.

 

[makoda]

100%. 32” and at minimum 120hz and I’m there.

I'd buy instantly!

 

[John_Blackthorne]

I’m fine with this - as long as Apple doesn’t decide the old ASD should be made obsolete and block it from working with new Macs going forward

TB 3 is an open standard, at leas when implemented in USB 4. The old Studio Displays and LG Displays before them aren't going anywhere.

 

[Biro]

TB 3 is an open standard, at leas when implemented in USB 4. The old Studio Displays and LG Displays before them aren't going anywhere.

All of that is true. But Apple still has control of the ASD’s OS.

 

[Cervisia]

People already complain that it costs too much. Start adding features and complexity & retool the production line and watch the price go up even higher.

There are displays that can do these for third of the price while having a 120hz panel. The only thing going for the AD is the resolution, but I'd choose the other features over it any day.

 

[fathergll]

Nobody is forcing them to be in the monitor business.

Correct which is why they are not a monitor company and they do not update their monitors often and sometimes do not offer them at all.

They should outsource mice and keyboards to Logitech while they're at it.

They don't have to outsource mice and keyboards like that. Those items have much better margins and much easier to manufacture with far less R&D. How often do you need to update keyboards over the years with major revisions in tech? Here's a litmus test question. How often do people make posts asking when Apple is going to update their magic keyboards vs monitors?

They've already did monitor outsourcing to LG in the past because they are not a monitor business and do not want to be one. https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...-with-lg-to-make-new-4k-5k-ultrafine-displays

That doesn't mean they will not sell monitors. It simply means that even though they are a tech company with the biggest market cap in the world they will not put much resources into developing a stand alone display. It has nothing to due with them not having the capability to do so. If they could make the same revenue with monitors as iPhones then they would.

 

[JippaLippa]

Oled and Mini-LED aren't good technologies for my industry (animation), but I'd love a 120hz studio display with more varied input methods.

 

[Reason077]

one Thunderbolt 3 port, and three USB-C ports

This is quite limiting. Hopefully the new version has more than one Thunderbolt port? Even my LG Ultrafine 4K has two!

Having the second downstream port allows you to daisy-chain multiple Thunderbolt displays, or connect Thunderbolt devices (like a super-fast SSD) directly to the display. Particularly useful with Thunderbolt 5 since it supports chaining 3 8K displays at up to 144 Hz.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

There are displays that can do these for third of the price while having a 120hz panel. The only thing going for the AD is the resolution, but I'd choose the other features over it any day.

Good thing there's different monitors for different shoppers. I looked into the 27" 5K LG, and I saw enough complaints about the controller board and/or USB-C being fiddly and prone to breaking that it disabused me from buying it. Then Samsung came out with their Viewfinity S9, but it had some weird "features" I wasn't interested in, so I got the ASD when it went on sale. It has the color space, resolution, features and quality I want. Having more variety on the market is a good thing.

 

[Cervisia]

Having more variety on the market is a good thing.

Apple refusing to add features that should be there in an expensive display after the home office boom is not the good king of variety. And those features are dirt cheap compared to what they ask for the display. And there is no upselling pontential either, since they don't provide any variety.

 

[mbmacrumors]

An early-mid 2026 launch lines up with Samsung's 27" QD-OLED 5k@120hz 220ppi screen displayed at CES2025.
TFTCentral pinned a comment with a 120hz refresh rate, and mentioned the early 2026 launch. (

)

Could also be a win for the gaming monitor market, if Samsung makes a dual-mode 5k@120hz & QHD@240hz screen.

Also at CES2025, Acer announced Predator X323QX 5k@144hz monitor using DisplayPort 1.4. (https://www.tomshardware.com/monito...or-x323qx-elevates-16-9-gaming-to-5k-at-144hz)

Apple may need to add value to the next Apple Studio Display (e.g. dual-mode QHD, Face ID, variable/low refresh like ProMotion, integrated camera, and/or Thunderbolt 5 connectivity), given competitor announcements.

 

[Royksöpp]

I care more about the backlight than anything else. ProMotion isn’t a concern for me on such a large display. I don’t notice much of a change when I switch over from my MacBook Pro.

 

[imikem]

I honestly read this as…

Apple is 'Ramping Up' Work on a New Stupid Display​

🙃

You may be suffering from ADS-B. Apple Derangement Syndrome comes in types A and B. These are largely identical except for a sort of religious divide, one believing Apple is a messiah, the other as the wellspring of evil. Both are similarly tiresome.

 

[drrich2]

It would be easier to seriously entertain the notion to buying an ASD if one had a reasonable expectation of using it for the next 10-years. And for many people that may happen. At this point, it seems the display sector has been making pretty fast progress on a number of fronts - larger sizes (more people getting 32"), higher resolution (still a LOT of 4K, but new 5K options opening up, and the ASUS 6K 32"), higher refresh rates, OLED (and progress in reducing burn-in risk) and other advances.

In other words, even if the ASD works fine for the next 10-years, what are you odds you'll still be happy with it in 5 or 6-years, since expectations rise as current options do? Never mind how a next gen. built-in webcam might do, or Thunder Bolt 5, etc...

If you guys bought an ASD today, or any display north of a grand, how long do you think you'd stick with it, even if superior products came out?

Nobody is forcing them to be in the monitor business. They should outsource mice and keyboards to Logitech while they're at it.

As long as there's an iMac, I think they're going to want the 'everything Apple' system. The idea anything Apple needs 3rd party peripherals to work, and that these might not be a close aesthetic match, would not be Apple's way. Even if Logitech manufactured them, they'd be branded Apple. I'm aware printers are an exception.

I like Apple's wireless small keyboard; just wish it was made to quickly switch between operating 3 different products, like some competitors.

Oled and Mini-LED aren't good technologies for my industry (animation), but I'd love a 120hz studio display with more varied input methods.

Out of curiosity, what are the downsides to OLED and Mini-LED for your industry? I've no idea, just wondering.

 

[twistedpixel8]

People that are price insensitive and convinced that what Apple makes is "the best"

People who want a 5K display made of quality materials that looks nice on our desks.

 

[deevey]

I don't understand what is the target market.

If you have to ask, you aren't the market.

There are displays that can do these for third of the price while having a 120hz panel. The only thing going for the AD is the resolution, but I'd choose the other features over it any day.

I'd love to see a link to what you consider as equivalent or better for 1/3 of the money.

Native MacOS scaling, Peak Nits, Uniformity, Build quality, Decent 7 speaker and a decent webcam (for its intended purpose of video calls - not making YouTube videos) are the reasons people choose the ASD - not the high FPS.

 

[TechnoMonk]

If you have to ask, you aren't the market.

I'd love to see a link to what you consider as equivalent or better for 1/3 of the money.

Native MacOS scaling, Peak Nits, Uniformity, Build quality, Decent 7 speaker and a decent webcam (for its intended purpose of video calls - not making YouTube videos) are the reasons people choose the ASD - not the high FPS.

I have one those so called equivalent, which they aren’t but good enough. I can’t use AS display because I need to use my displays with Linux workstation and my Mac. AS is clearly better though it isn’t for me. It’s great display if you have the money and need 5K display.