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Apple Working on Studio Display 2: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say
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ProMotion (120Hz) is important to Apple’s video-editing customers, so it will come, even if Apple has to do it themselves. The question is, will the industry follow? You could be right that the answer is no, because 5K (and 6K, which is not the true 6400x3600 that a “6K” UHD television standard would require) is not happening for televisions. They are going directly from 4K to 8K, but not anytime soon.
But I think it’s possible console makers could still get on board. I mean, the PS5 Pro already supports 8K at 60Hz, right? So if 5K displays become more common outside of the universe, then existing hardware could support them. Not to mention PS6, which I know nothing about, but if it’s another collaboration with AMD, then 5K support is not going to be an engineering problem.
Regardless, ProMotion isn’t coming to the Studio Display, which uses standard LG panels. We can agree on that!
The panel doesn’t care, but the designer of the panel does. There are panels designed for television, and panels designed for computers. TVs are designed for viewing from multiple distances, computer displays are designed for close viewing and reading from a single distance. TVs are built for bright, vibrant color, computer displays are built to control brightness and color accuracy. Not to mention depth and greyscale. My knowledge is a bit out of date, so maybe this difference is less pronounced in OLED designs, I don’t know, but historically your statement is inaccurate.
Two years ago I wouldn’t have argued with this, though I would have lamented it. But somebody (BOE?) other than LG is building 5K displays these days, and LG itself is diving headfirst into 6K. TVs won’t go there, but computer displays already have.
ProMotion (120Hz) is important to Apple’s video-editing customers, so it will come, even if Apple has to do it themselves. The question is, will the industry follow? You could be right that the answer is no, because 5K (and 6K, which is not the true 6400x3600 that a “6K” UHD television standard would require) is not happening for televisions. They are going directly from 4K to 8K, but not anytime soon.
But I think it’s possible console makers could still get on board. I mean, the PS5 Pro already supports 8K at 60Hz, right? So if 5K displays become more common outside of the universe, then existing hardware could support them. Not to mention PS6, which I know nothing about, but if it’s another collaboration with AMD, then 5K support is not going to be an engineering problem.
Regardless, ProMotion isn’t coming to the Studio Display, which uses standard LG panels. We can agree on that!
This may be my ignorance but an honest question
Why is it important to edit on a monitor with a frequency faster than the frame rate of the content being released?
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That doesn't preclude the computer display industry benefiting from the t.v. panel industry. It is an interesting question; to what extent (if any) did the proliferation of 4K t.v.s provide economy-of-scale benefits to the computer display industry, and encourage computer processors and GPUs powerful enough to effectively video edit in 4K? And the reverse? Some of the big names in computer displays (e.g.: Samsung, LG) are also big names in t.v.s.
I'm not disputing your point that there are practical usage requirements dictating differences in monitor vs. t.v. design (though some people use t.v.s as large computer displays). I'm suggesting there may be enough overlap so trends in one industry has substantial impacts in the other. But I don't work in either industry, so for me it's guesswork.
You’re right about 4K/8K UHD streaming standards, but I was thinking of video editing in a very broad sense. The main discipline we’re talking about is called “motion design” or “motion graphics” — especially 3D. This workload benefits from 120Hz: everything on the display runs more fluidly.
Also, note that iPhone 16 Pro can shoot 4K Dolby Vision 120fps video (via “Fusion” computational photography), so there’s another motive for Apple to bring 120Hz to the Pro Display.
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Oh, no doubt. I think it’s a three-way dynamic, with the game developers/industry in between the two.
I have a question about the video editing 'industry' as it pertains to professionals in particular. Is it at all common for content makers to shoot in higher resolution than needed or useful in the present, so their content will be ready for future higher resolution gear?
If memory serves, sometimes old movies have been reissued with 'remastered' versions, and some t.v.s can 'upsample' lower res. content. I don't know how all that works, but the intent is to make older works look closer to modern high res. content.
If the original video was shot and processed in 8K, for example, and the content was expected to be popular 7 or 8+ years from now (when 8K t.v.s might be entering the mainstream), it might make sense to do so now.
Does anyone know if that's a 'thing' these days, or not?
Its better to shoot hi-res and downsample, its keeps far better quality
For those interested, here are updated photos of the LG 6K:
tftcentral.co.uk
It has been a long time since I was this interested in a display. I keep checking every few days to see if there’s news…
LG UltraFine 32U990A Announced with a 6K Resolution and Thunderbolt 5 - TFTCentral
Share this contentOriginally published 9 January 2025, last updated 25 March 2025 LG’s latest UltraFine 32U990A monitor is the world’s first 6K high-resolution monitor to come with Thunderbolt 5 connectivity,....[click link for more]
tftcentral.co.uk
It has been a long time since I was this interested in a display. I keep checking every few days to see if there’s news…
I’m up for a decent screen for my Mac Studio I bought a couple of months ago. I’d seriously consider stretching my budget to a new Studio Display if it was available now, or in the very near future. As it isn’t, my budget will go elsewhere.
If 5k panels don’t exist over 60 hz how are they planning to release a 90 hz one?
And if they’re developing a 90 hz one, why not develop something more sensible like 120 hz instead?
If thunderbolt 4 could do 5k 60 hz then thunderbolt 5 should be capable of 5k 120 hz.
And if they’re developing a 90 hz one, why not develop something more sensible like 120 hz instead?
If thunderbolt 4 could do 5k 60 hz then thunderbolt 5 should be capable of 5k 120 hz.
Samsung has a working proof-of-concept prototype of a 27" 5K 120Hz QD-OLED panel. See this TFT Central article, about halfway through, under the heading “27" 5K Panel Coming in the Future” …
The most interesting thing Samsung said about this is that it’s possible because the current generation of their manufacturing technology allows for it. That statement implies earlier generations did not.
I think that’s why we haven’t seen a Retina (218dpi, or greater) IPS panel above 60Hz. The industry as a whole could do high resolution or high refresh rate, but not both.
Nothing in the recent surge of Retina+ IPS panels suggests that equation has changed. The Asus ProArt line (5K, 6K, and 8K) is the most ambitious, but BenQ and ViewSonic ColorPro are also involved. These are all Thunderbolt 4, and they are all 60Hz.
Acer’s new ProCreator series has a 5K and a 6K, but they are both 60Hz. If you want a higher refresh rate (up to 240Hz), you are limited to 4K resolution, but it’s QD-OLED. I think this must be a Samsung panel, the same one used in these Asus and MSI gaming monitors, which is also the same generation of manufacturing technology used for the Retina 5K 120Hz prototype mentioned above.
TL;DR — Apple could use a Samsung panel for an OLED Retina 5K ProMotion “Studio Display 2.0” by this time next year. Not this year, though.
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As a hobbyist, I realize the current Studio Display is all I need, and more. I am waiting for a sale on it, to trade-in my M3 iMac for a M4 Pro Mac mini plus Studio Monitor. Hobby, hobby hobby. NEED is way "too harsh a mistress" for folks like me.
I hope I’m wrong, but I just think “not this year” if it’s to have ProMotion — an update tomorrow would bring nothing that couldn’t have been introduced in March (Thunderbolt 5, improvements to the silicon and the camera).
People assume bringing ProMotion to the Studio Display is trivial, but it is not. The panels that can do that won’t be in production until next year.
Very, very unlikely that Apple limits this new 5k120hz display to Thunderbolt 5 only.
They will almost certainly use DSC over USB-C, which will allow it to offer 5k120hz over Thunderbolt 3/4, meaning all M-series laptops and computers will be able to use it.
Releasing a monitor that can only be fully utilized by the Pro version of the latest model would make no sense, because they'd barely sell any of them.
My experience with Original Apple displays has been absolutely flawless for multiple decades now. I still us a 2010 27' Cinema Display. I had multiple displays from Apple. Every single one of them has been excellent and worth the marked up price. Especially if you keep it 10 years or longer. This Studio Display 2 will be my next purchase. I have flirted with Samsung replacements, but they just do not have the usual Apple look and feel and not the quality. I will not save on the wrong product. Apple - You count me in for sure for this next revised Studio Display 2 with Mini LED matrix.