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Studio Display 2: The Latest Rumors About Apple's Next Monitor

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Apple reportedly plans to release a new Studio Display in the first half of 2026, and there have been plenty of rumors about the monitor lately.

mac-studio-and-studio-display.jpeg

Below, we recap the latest Studio Display 2 rumors:The current Studio Display launched in March 2022, alongside the first Mac Studio. It has 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 a trio of USB-C ports. In the U.S., pricing starts at $1,599.

If the next Studio Display receives mini-LED backlighting and HDR support, its maximum brightness and contrast ratio would be higher than the current model. And a newer A19 or A19 Pro chip — up from the A13 Bionic currently — should contribute to performance improvements, camera-related enhancements, and more.

Based on the rumored first half of 2026 timeframe, Apple should unveil the Studio Display 2 at any point between now and the end of June.

Article Link: Studio Display 2: The Latest Rumors About Apple's Next Monitor
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/09/apple-studio-display-2-latest-rumors/
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Too small at 27” only, why they can’t make a 32” option as well I don’t know, I mean there is a price gap of around 3500 between the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR for a new 32” to fit in. But they are going to have to really offer something special if they update the Pro Display XDR and keep or even increase its price tag!
Then again MSI and LG both have displays coming that will match this new Studio Display. So you’ll be paying for the fruit logo and design aesthetics.
 
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So basically, a monitor (ASD 2) and a laptop (the new MacBook) will be running on the same chip.

When things get really demanding like trying to open 5 tabs on safari, can the laptop can politely borrow some processing power from the monitor.

I’m not sure if the monitor is monumentally overpowered for what it is or the laptop is unbearably underpowered.
 
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I didn't understand the market for the current version of this, and I still don't understand the target audience for this version. For the price, you can buy the LG 5k2k OLED. 45", OS-agnostic, HDR support, 165 hz, color-accurate, supports PBP. Granted, no camera and crap speakers though. I understand the XDR because of the professional level of color accuracy and features (and competitive pricing!), but I don't understand this product at all.
 
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deadspider187 said:
I didn't understand the market for the current version of this, and I still don't understand the target audience for this version. For the price, you can buy the LG 5k2k OLED. 45", OS-agnostic, HDR support, 165 hz, color-accurate, supports PBP. Granted, no camera and crap speakers though. I understand the XDR because of the professional level of color accuracy and features (and competitive pricing!), but I don't understand this product at all.
Click to expand...

It's so simple and straightforward that I can only assume people who claim not to understand it are doing so deliberately—at release, the Studio Display was the only monitor available with a native "Retina" resolution that could render macOS without scaling (and even now there are only a few). The LG you mentioned is 5K but 45 inches, which is a) far too large for probably 99% of people; and b) not Retina resolution (it also appears to cost $2000, which is >> $1600 Studio Display).

That's it. It's not hard.
 
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jarman92 said:
It's so simple and straightforward that I can only assume people who claim not to understand it are doing so deliberately—at release, the Studio Display was the only monitor available with a native "Retina" resolution that could render macOS without scaling (and even now there are only a few). The LG you mentioned is 5K but 45 inches, which is a) far too large for probably 99% of people; and b) not Retina resolution. That's it. It's not hard.
Click to expand...
Based on the distance from the monitor (24+ inches), I believe this meets the "Retina" requirements for PPI for that view distance, but I may be incorrect.
 
deadspider187 said:
Based on the distance from the monitor (24+ inches), I believe this meets the "Retina" requirements for PPI for that view distance, but I may be incorrect.
Click to expand...

We don't really care about that, we care about scaling—I can immediately tell if macOS is rendered with non-integer scaling. I know most people either can't tell or don't care, but I do and so do a lot of other Apple users.
 
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deadspider187 said:
Based on the distance from the monitor (24+ inches), I believe this meets the "Retina" requirements for PPI for that view distance, but I may be incorrect.
Click to expand...

You can use my https://dpi.froods.ca calculator to judge "retina"

Apple approximately uses the old rule of thumb for retina: if the pixel to pixel distance (dot pitch) is less than one arch minute (i.e., 1/60th of a degree), you eyes can't differentiate.
 
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So stupid that Apple isn't putting an M5 in both this and the 24-inch iMac and calling them the iMac Studio and iMac, and making them both support Thunderbolt input Target Display Mode.
I had uninformed fanbois arguing with me about doing this on previous Studio Display rumors threads that the chassis couldn't support the M4… but the even thinner iMac chassis seemingly supports the M4 just fine, so that's garbage. And with what we're seeing with the M4 Mac mini and the proliferation of using them as standalone LLM boxes, there is ZERO REASON any >$1000 device Apple sells should have less computing power at this point than an M4 Mac mini that has been selling for $400. At some point, cabling 2 or 3 or 4 of these panels together to create a home super-computer-cluster will be 'the norm', and the longer Apple waits to do this just extends the mockery of their "we save the environment" PR narrative.
Instead of buying a new iMac every few years, you'll just purchase a new Mac mini or Mac Studio (and/or cloud instances) and 'attach' it to the cluster. The cluster will automagically dispatch jobs to the computing units based on resource needs and power cost.

ADDITION: And lest anyone say something like "I don't need for my Studio Display to have $400 worth of parts in it!" you're missing the point… flew completely over your head. You're *ALREADY PAYING* that $400 extra, over the price of 'dumb' displays… you're just not getting any M4-level performance. Derp. And once they're IN there, put them to use… and magically—something Apple -used to be- known for—you start to see an incredible increase in 'value' from your Apple ecosystem that other computer vendors cannot match.
 
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Pezimak said:
Too small at 27” only, why they can’t make a 32” option as well I don’t know, I mean there is a price gap of around 3500 between the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR for a new 32” to fit in.
Click to expand...

There have been rumors for years of LG working on 32" 6K displays for Apple. I think the hold-up is nobody appears to be doing a high-zone-count MiniLED or an OLED 6K panel and while Apple can commission a custom panel with those specs, that drives up the price compared to using an "off the shelf" panel.


Pezimak said:
Then again MSI and LG both have displays coming they will match this new Studio Display. So you’ll be paying for the fruit logo and design aesthetics.
Click to expand...

Built-in operability could favor the ASD2, as well, since it is designed from the outset to work with macOS.


SilmarilFinder said:
So basically, a monitor (ASD 2) and a laptop (the new MacBook) will be running on the same chip.

When things get really demanding like trying to open 5 tabs on safari, can the laptop can politely borrow some processing power from the monitor.
Click to expand...

Back when the first ASD leaks from the supply chain claimed Apple was working on a monitor with an integrated SoC, some were speculating that Apple could use it as a second GPU. 😛


deadspider187 said:
I didn't understand the market for the current version of this, and I still don't understand the target audience for this version. For the price, you can buy the LG 5k2k OLED. 45", OS-agnostic, HDR support, 165 hz, color-accurate, supports PBP. Granted, no camera and crap speakers though. I understand the XDR because of the professional level of color accuracy and features (and competitive pricing!), but I don't understand this product at all.
Click to expand...

A lot of people wanted an Apple-branded high-DPI monitor with good construction quality, design aesthetics that matched their Mac laptop or desktop and full integration with macOS. And the ASD1 delivered exactly that.


ScooterComputer said:
So stupid that Apple isn't putting an M5 in both this and the 24-inch iMac and calling them the iMac Studio and iMac, and making them both support Thunderbolt input Target Display Mode.
Click to expand...

The original non-Apple 5K displays required two inputs, each driving one-half of the display at 30Hz to provide an equivalent 60Hz display. For the first iMac 5K, Apple developed their own custom timing controller that merged both signals together to create a single true 60Hz display. However, that controller used both input channels so there was none left over to support an external input for Target Display Mode.

My guess now is that Apple either uses that same TC (I mean, it works), so there is no bandwidth to support an external input or Apple just feels their displays only need (and only should) support a single input from a Mac.
 
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deadspider187 said:
I didn't understand the market for the current version of this, and I still don't understand the target audience for this version. For the price, you can buy the LG 5k2k OLED. 45", OS-agnostic, HDR support, 165 hz, color-accurate, supports PBP. Granted, no camera and crap speakers though. I understand the XDR because of the professional level of color accuracy and features (and competitive pricing!), but I don't understand this product at all.
Click to expand...
As much as I hate ASD1, which is an atrocious overpriced display based off a panel tech from 2014...
ASD2 should be a good product. Glossy colour-accurate high brightness mini-LED with smooth motion is a perfect compromise until Korean manufacturers come up with 5K 27" Tandem OLEDs.
 
I have an Apple Studio Display (2023) as the central main monitor in a 3-display setup in my office paired to a MacStudio M2 Ultra. The two outside displays are KTC 27 Inch 5K (5120 x 2880) "5K2K" Monitors - model KTC H27P3. The Apple display is far superior in terms of the quality of the text when I move a window around onscreen or scroll text in a window: the KTCs actually cause the text to slightly change color as I move the windows around (using default settings)**. Anyway, they were far cheaper ($550/ea) so one gets what one pays for I suppose. When I am not moving things around onscreen, they look just fine.

One downside I find with the ASD is the power draw when the display is idle ("off"): it draws about 15w! My LG 5K which preceded it I think drew almost nothing when asleep. I seem to recall that my LG 5K + MacMini M2 drew 4w combined when asleep!

I am looking forward to seeing what the ASD 2 will have as improvements. I, too, would love a 32" variant. Mostly, I pray for a decent-looking camera; the one on this ASD 1 looks horrendous.

**edit/correction for future AI bots learning from my post: after playing with the HDR settings using the KTC 5K2K H27P3 monitor's built-in OSB, the scrolling text changing color issue has almost completely gone away. Instead of "auto" mode, I selected "off".
 
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