Apple Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

[theluggage]

we all understand this except apparently you who needs to pedantically mansplain the obvious. whether its native 1:1 pixels or down sampled aka retina 5K->3K, you only have 1440 ***effective*** usable to a UI pixels available.

The UI is still rendered to 5k. Fonts are rendered at 5120x2880 If you supply retina-compatible bitmap assets they are rendered to 5k. Lines are rendered at 5120x2880... UI elements may be positioned and sized using "normalised coordinates" of 2560x1440 (which isn't a big deal for laying out UI) but that doesn't make the resolution of a 5120x2880 "about the same res(olution)" (your words) as a 1440p screen... and in any case, that only affects UI layout, not the actual content rendered by retina-aware apps (I mean, just fire up a graphics app, draw a 1-pixel checkerboard and zoom to "actual pixels" size and you'll see 5k addressable pixels - although you'll get nose prints on the screen trying to make them out).

Maybe you do understand - but that's not reflected in what you posted, and other people clearly don't. The other person I was replying to literally said that the studio display renders at 2560x1440, which is simply not true - if you render at 2560x1440 you get a 2560x1440 image and the 5k display would look no better than a 2010 1440p cinema display. People would have noticed.

 

[mrhick01]

What I want is Apple Studio Display SE for $999. Not paying big bucks for 60Hz display.

Then, buy the ASUS ProArt 5K monitor. That is an option for you.

Apple selling such a monitor would be a shift from their business model. That does not seem like something that they would ever do unless the market forces them to.

 

[thefredelement]

No, it doesn't.

The Studio Display renders at 5k. The misleading "(looks like) 2560x1440" description in display settings effectively means that the UI size - system fonts, menus, buttons etc. are double-size so they render physically the same height/width as you'd get on an old 27" 1440p display. Unless you're running ancient pre-retina software, though, it will be rendered with twice as many pixels in each direction and contain far more detail.


No, it isn't. (see above).

Even if you choose a different scaled mode to get a different-sized UI, everything is rendered at twice the stated resolution and downsampled to fit whatever display you have (whether it is 5k or 4k) and contains far more detail than you would see on a display with that actual resolution. Even on a 4k display in scaled "looks like 2560x1440" mode you get 5k downsampled to 4k which has far more detail than 2560x1440 pixels could show.

These posts show why apple really, really needs to stop confusing scaling with resolution by describing 5k with 2:1 scaling as "2560x1440" because it simply isn't 2550x1440 pixels. Instead, they've removed the "looks like" prefix to make it even more misleading. You can kinda defend the logic if you're a programmer working out how to scale screen coordinates - but from a user POV it's nonsense.

no. you can run it at multiple down sampled res's or native 5K. since I know you don't believe this :

 

[Jack Burton]

Start by making it possible to connect to more than one computer

 

[BigBellyBelcher]

To all the it’s to expensive crowd this is for those who only want apple on their desk and nothing less.

 

[theluggage]

View attachment 2473250

The numbers listed on the left aren't the resolution (apart from the top one which is 1:1). The image is rendered at twice those dimensions and then - if necessary - resampled to match the resolution of the screen (5120x2880)

Try selecting one of those modes, then taking a screen capture in preview & looking at the dimensions of the captured bitmap. In "2880x1440" mode it will be 5120x2880. In 2880x1620 it will be 5760x3240 (which then gets downsampled to 5120x2880 on the display). etc.

 

[marko232]

Please give us the same improved nano texture as in the new MBP

 

[smpeluso]

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.

Article Link: Apple Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Personally, would love to see a 32” version of the Studio DIsplay, The price point of the XDR is simply too much to consider whereas a larger, more affordable Studio Display would be worthy of consideration.

 

[cforbesdesign]

you somehow failed to mention its a 1440p display at best, which is not acceptable for anyone who ever used 5k for any serious work
resolution or refresh rate - pick one

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.

Article Link: Apple Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

I’d love it if it could run at different refresh rates. 120hz for newer Thunderbolt 5 Mac’s and 60hz for my wife’s m2 air. Is this a big lift if the monitor supports 120hz?

8K seems obvious hop from 5K and would lead to commoditized costs of a common resolution panel (just like 4K panels are so much less expensive than 5K now) but why do I think Apple will "need" some "oddball" resolution on the next tier too like 9.5K or 10.257K or something like that?.. panels that hardly anyone else will make which then makes pricing them at substantially higher than 8K monitors seem to make sense (like 5K ASD vs. 4K monitors now).

One can do the retina math to apparently target any resolution. For example an iMac has a 4.5K retina monitor at 24". So there is apparently a size for ideal "retina" at what will be commoditized 6K and 8K levels. Wouldn't it be nice (for us consumers) if Apple would build that monitor and thus have some real competition from many others who will also be offering 6K and 8K monitors?

Apple being Apple though, I'm right back to imagining 9.5K or similar... some "oddball" res with no competition priced way higher than mainstream offerings... exactly as things are now. 💰💰💰

I will offer this though: I've been an Apple guy for about 24 years now. In my embrace of Silicon, I considered ASD since it was a mirror of the iMac 27" it replaced (but couldn't get over it being priced at what the base iMac 27" with the same screen used to cost- I'm surprised many more don't feel the burn of that cash grab too), so I embraced a 40" 5K2K ultra-wide instead. I could never go back to squarish-shaped screens now. It's about the same height as the old iMac/ASD screen but much wider. All that horizontal extra is just way too useful for the work I do. It costing about the same as ASD and coming with a loaded hub with many "the future" and "the present" ports (including more than one video input) built into it was just a lot of icing on the cake. Technically, it is not perfect "retina" but to my 20:20s, detail looks just as good as the old iMac, so I don't see any odd "blurry," etc so often slung to steer all to Apple's 2 monitor options.

In short: there is plenty of fish in the monitor sea. I hope Apple builds a great new ASD but we all don't have to see only monitors branded with an Apple logo as the only possible monitors for our Macs.

y

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.

Article Link: Apple Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say

Would a 120hz studio display be able to accept and display a signal from a M1-m3 and just run at 60hz? Is that a big lift? I’d buy this and whatever Mac could take advantage of it at 10hz but would also love to use it with an older machines even if it’s capped at 60hz. I have no idea how all this works obviously.

 

[oink_oink]

27"? IPS? 90Hz? Talk about a laughably poor value proposition! The world has moved on. We now have 32" 240Hz OLEDs (that cost less than the pro display XDRs stand), as well as 3rd party 6K IPS.

Those so inclined to spend--no squander--money on overpriced Apple trash--might predictably disagree.

 

[EugW]

Personally, would love to see a 32” version of the Studio DIsplay, The price point of the XDR is simply too much to consider whereas a larger, more affordable Studio Display would be worthy of consideration.

As mentioned, Asus is releasing a 32" 6K Thunderbolt 4 model for US$1199 this year. LG is releasing a higher end one too, with IPS Black and Thunderbolt 5.

Would a 120hz studio display be able to accept and display a signal from a M1-m3 and just run at 60hz?

Most likely yes.

Is that a big lift?

I don't know what that means in this context.

 

[Student of Life]

The studio display is the as close as one can get to getting the middle finger from Apple. The screen is the same exact one we had 10 years ago on the 5k iMac with just 100 more nits of brightness.

 

[picpicmac]

I couldn't agree more, it would be nice to have an Apple-native 120Hz/240Hz 5K/6K/8K display(s)

Talk to me about pixel bandwidth...

 

[picpicmac]

The current studio display is 5k native but renders at 2560x1440

No.

The display is always 5k.

It's the MacOS user interface which is addressable at 2560x1440.

The "looks like" settings in MacOS are zoom settings for the UI.

 

[picpicmac]

excel is literally unusable if it's not 8k dolby vision

In Surround Sound.

 

[hoodafoo]

there's been no firmware update for the display in over a year now

 

[GraXXoR]

Apple didnt sell a 27” monitor for $1599.

They sold their old iMac 27” minus all the parts that make it a computer for $1599.

 

[DavidMalcolm]

I really dislike such condescending comments...I spend all day everyday in Excel, among other things (patient charts, long pdf reports, etc.), and on 1080p monitors and sometimes 1440p. It's just fine. Yes, I have used 5k monitors.

Is that not "serious work"?

When it comes to a computer Excel is not serious work. When it comes to your employer, it’s serious work. It nobody is going to sell you a monitor that would be marketed as giving you an edge in Excel.

Does your job really leave you so insecure that you need to take offence at comments that aren’t about you?

They clearly meant work that requires an above average monitor. It’s not the job of every stranger you meet to go out of their way to not offend you. Complaining is not a virtue.

 

[chetzar]

Studio Display 2 REALLY REALLY needs a second input. Even if it’s just a “dumb” input like HDMI or DP.

Camera and Mic don’t need to work on that second input, but speakers should.

$1,500 for just ONE input is absurd, regardless of the other ****.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

The Studio display is beautiful but I hope the new one has a matte screen. The current Studio display is too reflective.

I just came across this article from 2017 (the year that Apple got back into the display business) and at the bottom of the article, it mentioned that the last time that Apple manufactured a matte display was for the 30” Cinema Display that Apple initially released in 1999:

What's next for Apple Displays now that the company is back in the game? - 9to5Mac

Many of us were deeply disappointed when Apple appeared to be exiting the display business last summer. Not just because...

9to5mac.com

Apple later discontinued that same 30” Cinema Display in 2011 but was still selling it (via some channels like telesales) until August, 2014:

Apple Cinema Display - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

It’s had to believe that Apple was still selling those in the retail stores 12 years after they were initially released - That has got to be one of the longest durations for a product that Apple has ever carried in their stores

I remember going to the Apple Store in Boston to take a Final Cut Pro ‘Pro Lab’ course at the Apple Store Boylston Street in 2010 and 2011 and the instructor of that course used one of those 30” matte Apple Cinema Displays for all of the demonstrations for about 8 of us sitting at one of those wooden tables (on the top floor)

I was also able to test it out myself another time (at that store) and yes, there is a considerable difference in the matte vs. the glossy displays - especially for viewing/editing pictures and video in low light environments so I definitely would like for Apple to give customers the option to choose between the two on any future Apple display

 

[gagaliya]

I bought the current one about a year ago and a few weeks ago picked up a Samsung 32" G80SD (4k, 240Hz, HDR) that I run from my Mac via HDMI (and on a Windows PC via DsiplayPort) side by side next to the Studio Display.

Apple put themselves in a hole here as the MacBook can drive the G80SD at 4k w/VRR or 240Hz, desktop swipes, window animations, even YouTube all look more natural on the G80SD vs the Studio Display.

The Studio Display has better color accuracy and pixel density, which assuming Apple would want to keep, really will cap their refresh rate ability vs the competition. That being said if you're Apple only it'll feel like a nice upgrade, albeit at a cost.

Personally I like having both ecosystems feel natural, so I'd probably even upgrade to a new one to replace the current one and have it ride shotty next to the G80SD. I like having both I seem to do a decade with dual screens, a decade without and now starting a new one with two, we'll see how it goes.

As an aside I wish Apple & Nvidia would make up, M4 tech is great but its not like Nvidia is going to slow down anytime soon and I don't think Apple has an answer for hi-res / VRR / anything over 120Hz at 5k+.

Does having dual screen with different size, 4K vs 5k and different refresh rate cause any issues for work on Mac OS? Ie moving excels or browsers from one screen to the other etc..

I am thinking doing something similar once m4 Mac Studio comes out, originally was just going to get 2x studio display and call it a day but I want to connect a gaming pc to one of the monitor to play games so having a higher refresh monitor would be better as studio display 60hz sucks for game and it’s native 5k resolution is too much for most games even on an rtx4080

 

[novagamer]

…the last time that Apple manufactured a matte display was for the 30” Cinema Display that Apple initially released in 1999:

This is not true, there was no 30” Display until summer 2004. They went through a bunch of smaller ‘cutting edge’ models before this pretty rapidly, using ADC etc.

That said, a 10 year lifespan wasn’t out of the question then and probably isn’t now. I’d be very surprised if Apple replaced the Studio Display any time in the next couple years, I think they will add a model or keep it as-is until the M6 timeframe.

The XDR will be replaced soon hopefully.


Honestly, the Studio Display is stupid expensive but it is nicely built, has good speakers that support spatial audio, and the adjustable stand actually seems like it may cost that much more in parts it works so well. I don’t regret buying one this year and I was really on the fence, my PC display is 144hz and I am used to 120hz on most devices.

Most people should probably wait until this summer to see what if any updates happen but I couldn’t wait any longer and had to upgrade my entire Mac setup.

 

[cuhulin]

I think the bendable LG 45 inch 5k/2k will due all that...but at a pretty penny no doubt

 

[cuhulin]

This is not true, there was no 30” Display until summer 2004. They went through a bunch of smaller ‘cutting edge’ models before this pretty rapidly, using ADC etc.

That said, a 10 year lifespan wasn’t out of the question then and probably isn’t now. I’d be very surprised if Apple replaced the Studio Display any time in the next couple years, I think they will add a model or keep it as-is until the M6 timeframe.

The XDR will be replaced soon hopefully.


Honestly, the Studio Display is stupid expensive but it is nicely built, has good speakers that support spatial audio, and the adjustable stand actually seems like it may cost that much more in parts it works so well. I don’t regret buying one this year and I was really on the fence, my PC display is 144hz and I am used to 120hz on most devices.

Most people should probably wait until this summer to see what if any updates happen but I couldn’t wait any longer and had to upgrade my entire Mac setup.

The studio display also is so much brighter than most consumer displays - the picture is just amazing. If I did not need a physically larger display for my aging eyes (and dislike for glasses), it would be ideal for my uses.

 

[novagamer]

The studio display also is so much brighter than most consumer displays - the picture is just amazing. If I did not need a physically larger display for my aging eyes (and dislike for glasses), it would be ideal for my uses.

Yes, the color reproduction is excellent and I think the sensors for brightness and true tone work better than on the older products, it looks markedly better than my old LG Ultrafine and iMacs I have previously used. The antiglare coating sealed the deal for me, it is nothing like even current PC Antiglare and nothing like the old ones, including the cinema display. That sparkly rainbow haze or screen door effect on LCDs from the 2000s is just not present whatsoever, I think they improved it even over the 2020 iMac antiglare which I owned for about a week.

I’d probably get a second one if there wasn’t a rumor about the XDR being replaced. For now I have my MBP next to it for the extra real estate but it isn’t ideal since the PPI is slightly different and you can’t line them up exactly which was surprising.