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Apple Working on Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say
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Because the people using these STUDIO monitors rarely shoot faster than 30 frames per second and never faster than 60. Also, these are 5K screens, the bit rate is very fast after 60Hz, and you have problems like HDMI can't go that fast.
My Monitor is 4K 240Hz I'm sure Apple can manage 120Hz at 5k.
Modern display technologies (DisplayPort 2.1b, Thunderbolt 5) can easily handle the bandwidth needed to drive a 5K display at 120hz SDR and even 10-bit HDR (although this is reaching the upper limit). This wasn’t the case when the Studio Display was first released. I hope Apple thinks different, goes ProMotion.
120Hz would use exactly twice the bandwidth of 60Hz, which Thunderbolt 5 just so happens to double over Thunderbolt 3/4. Not only that, Thunderbolt 5 can reverse one of the channels so it can do 120/40 Gbps up/down instead of 80/80, leaving even more bandwidth for the display with Thunderbolt 3/4 speeds left over for other stuff. I’d be extremely surprised if the new studio display didn’t take advantage of that.
Secondary input (HDMI, DP, Mini-DP, whatever) please
It will definitely have Thunderbolt 5.
That supports 5k at 120hz no problem so I’m betting on that. Older macs with TB3 will perhaps also be supported, but will be limited to 60hz.
That supports 5k at 120hz no problem so I’m betting on that. Older macs with TB3 will perhaps also be supported, but will be limited to 60hz.
At this point, with how long we've been waiting, if it's anything less than OLED/microLED and 200 Hz I'll be disappointed.
OLED or Micro LED, or bust.
No more of this traditional LED or Mini LED nonsense.
No more of this traditional LED or Mini LED nonsense.
If they release a 120hz version, this will most likely require TB5 for the raw bandwidth. This means only m4 pro/max and newer would support that rate, which would limit greatly those who could benefit from promotion (on the other hand, they may think of that as potential driver for upgrades, who knows). They may be able to reach 5k120hz with TB4 if they enable DP2.1 with DSC. It’s important to understand that you can’t just “promotion” something. Bandwidth is the main issue. Mind that the raw bandwidth ratio of 4k120 vs 5k120 is circa 1.78.
Given the lengths they went to to get the 30 inch Cinema display to work in 2004 with dual-link DVI, I can imagine them going to those lengths again
Looking forward to the new Apple Studio Display 2 with Thunderbolt 5, to place a large corporate order for our University.
Clickbait. The "latest rumours" from 4 months and 8 months ago 
Nothing to see here. It'll be 2027 before we see a SD2 and even then it'll be borderline incremental (except in price), without a redesign or any other significant reason to upgrade.
Would prefer to see an affordable XDR display instead.
Nothing to see here. It'll be 2027 before we see a SD2 and even then it'll be borderline incremental (except in price), without a redesign or any other significant reason to upgrade.
Would prefer to see an affordable XDR display instead.
What is so hard about getting 120Hz out there? Much like Retina resolution, once you achieve 120Hz you've achieved "good enough" status, where it basically never needs to be increased again, because it is already sharper and smoother than the human eye can perceive.
That said, Apple released its first 5K display eleven years ago, and the display market still does not give the tiniest crap about catching up and achieving "good enough" status.
I never imagined back in 2014 that in 2025 a 5K display would still be a rarity, nor did I imagine back in 2017 when the iPad added 120Hz display that in 2025 we still wouldn't have a mix of high resolution/high refresh rate as a common thing.
That said, Apple released its first 5K display eleven years ago, and the display market still does not give the tiniest crap about catching up and achieving "good enough" status.
I never imagined back in 2014 that in 2025 a 5K display would still be a rarity, nor did I imagine back in 2017 when the iPad added 120Hz display that in 2025 we still wouldn't have a mix of high resolution/high refresh rate as a common thing.
I would have bought the old one if it was 129 hertz. I feel like that’s kind of a necessity at this point.
Apple released the Studio Display in March 2022, alongside the first Mac Studio, and it has not received any hardware upgrades since.
The current Studio Display features a 27-inch LCD screen with a 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 monitor starts at $1,599.
Below, we recap rumors about a potential Studio Display 2.
Mini-LED by Early 2026
Apple plans to release a new Studio Display in late 2025 or early 2026, according to Ross Young, a display industry expert and VP at Counterpoint Research.
In a subscriber-only post shared on X in February, Young said the new Studio Display would feature the same 27-inch screen size as the current model, but add mini-LED backlighting. This upgrade would result in increased brightness and higher contrast ratio compared to the current model, which has traditional LED backlighting.
Young did not share any further details, so it is unclear if any other Studio Display specifications would change, such as the refresh rate.
Young has a respectable track record with display-related information for future Apple products. For example, he was the first source to reveal the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max would feature 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, over a year before the devices launched. He is the founder and former CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, a research firm that was acquired by Counterpoint Research in late 2023.
A new Studio Display with mini-LED backlighting has been rumored by a few other sources, including Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The display will likely launch in 2026, according to Gurman.
90Hz Rumor
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 is not clear to us if this individual has any established track record with Apple-related rumors, so keep that in mind.
Article Link: Apple Working on Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say
Why miniLED? OLED or microLED. Its price would pay for microLED.
90Hz? 120hz ProMotion more likely.
So TB5 and/or dualTB4.
90Hz? 120hz ProMotion more likely.
So TB5 and/or dualTB4.
While it's natural to prefer bigger spec. numbers, in terms of practical subjective user experience, if someone doesn't know what the device is operating at, how big of a difference will most users note between 60 and 90 Hz, and 90 and 120 Hz?
That's not a rhetorical question; I haven't used 90 or 120 Hz refresh rates on a desktop system.
From what I've read, the benefit is when moving objects around on the display - such as dragging windows or scrolling in a browser, 60 Hz is a bit rough/stuttering and 120 smoother, like watching an object moved in the real world. Apple doesn't target the gaming market, so they may not emphasize 120 Hz refresh rates.
Asus even has (per rumor) a $1,200 6K 32" due out soon. I'd love to see that spec. grow in market share.
That's not a rhetorical question; I haven't used 90 or 120 Hz refresh rates on a desktop system.
From what I've read, the benefit is when moving objects around on the display - such as dragging windows or scrolling in a browser, 60 Hz is a bit rough/stuttering and 120 smoother, like watching an object moved in the real world. Apple doesn't target the gaming market, so they may not emphasize 120 Hz refresh rates.
It looked that way for awhile. Lately, Asus, Viewsonic and BenQ have come on board with 5K 27" Displays, and Samsung and LG already had models out. As the display manufacturers compete on features in something of a 'spec. war,' perhaps the pressure added to the critical mass of public awareness of 5K 27" displays will finally drive broader adoption.
Asus even has (per rumor) a $1,200 6K 32" due out soon. I'd love to see that spec. grow in market share.
Apple 2004: "find a way to make this!"
Apple 2025: "find a way to milk this!"
I reckon Apple will sit on the current one and milk it for quite a few years yet
Do you know of a 120 hz 5k display?
Apple doesn’t design or make displays, Samsung and LG do and Apple buys them
100%.. the studio display is the best I have and is working perfectly after 3 years. But the biggest miss is I have to switch the cable to go between work laptop and my Mac! Which is really annoying. Have tried things to fix to no avail