Leaked code references upcoming Studio Display & possible other new monitors

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in Future Apple Hardware

The next-generation Studio Display may arrive soon, and leaked code shows that it at least exists internally after three years without updates to the original.

A desktop setup featuring a large monitor with vibrant abstract art, keyboard, mouse, headphones, mug, and tech devices on a white desk in a modern workspace.
Apple's Studio Display is due for an upgrade



Apple hasn't forgotten about the Studio Display, though it has been slow to announce a new model. The expensive 27-inch Retina Display with 60Hz refresh and LED backlighting isn't super appealing when the market is flooded with ultra-cheap OLED models.

According to leaked code discovered by MacRumors, Apple's next-generation Studio Display is alive and well with codename J427. However, there's no hint as to what features it may have or when it will release.

A second reference, J527, was also discovered, but it is unknown which device it could be referring to. It could be a different version of the Studio Display, a new Pro Display XDR, or a different device altogether.

Apple's display proved somewhat controversial when it launched since it was backlit by LED and lacked faster refresh rates. While it was Retina 5K, consumers were quick to point out that similarly specced models were available at nearly half the price.

That, and Apple seemingly never took real advantage of the A13 processor beyond normal monitor processor functions.

The next Studio Display has been rumored to be quite the upgrade, though some of it may be wishcasting. Jumping to mini-LED backlighting and ProMotion could prove cost-prohibitive.

Apple could announce the updated Studio Display at any time. If it is imminent, it could launch either in the fall along with new M5 Macs or in the spring with updated MacBook Pros.

Rumor Score: Likely

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    sennensennen Posts: 1,473member
    I can't see how Apple has "been slow" to update the Studio Display that's only 3 years old when it hasn't updated the Pro Display XDR for 6 years and it ran the Thunderbolt Display for 6+ years.
    lotonesAlex1N
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  • Reply 2 of 14
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,597member
    Definitely likely because Amazon has Studio Display on sale for a lot less which signals that Apple wants them out for their new display. 


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  • Reply 3 of 14
    zeus423zeus423 Posts: 300member
    It isn't the display that's taking too long. It's the $400 stand. :)
    williamlondonmacguibaconstang
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  • Reply 4 of 14
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,198member

     While it was Retina 5K, consumers were quick to point out that similarly specced models were available at nearly half the price.


    Yeah, and they're crap.  This argument gets so old.

    They're primarily 4K displays, not 5K.  They all the typical junk plastic construction, and may be fine for office situations, but quality matters for many.  When it comes time for me to buy my next Mac in the next couple years, it will be connected to whatever new studio display is available.  
    mike1hmlongcowilliamlondonlotonesthtsennendanoxmacguiAlex1N
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  • Reply 5 of 14
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    williamlondondanox
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  • Reply 6 of 14
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,766member
    For years, only LG had competitors to Apple’s displays. The 4k and the 5k. I can tell you from having the 5k, here for a while, along with Apple’s display, that Apple’s was much better. The LG had a lot of problems for the first year and some lingered longer than that. It was also much flimsier than Apple’s. If you calibrated it carefully, it looked very good, but unlike Apple’s its calibration would constantly go off. Not with Apple’s. 

    Now there are several cheaper competitors. But unfortunately, the people “reviewing” these things rarely are qualified. Where are the graphics professionals with proper calibration hardware and software? They’re not the ones reviewing these, at least, not that I’ve seen. When I bought monitors for my company, they had to be high grade professional graphics models, or they were useless. Cheap monitors can look good for a while, but you have to keep after them.

    I’ve always preferred to pay for quality, rather than for something that’s trying to be quality, using cheaper components that just aren’t up to it over the useful life of the product.
    sennendanoxAlex1Nbaconstang
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  • Reply 7 of 14
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,766member

    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    I wouldn’t go near an Asus monitor. They have long term problems I’m not willing to deal with.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 14
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,602moderator
    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    The price is ok for a premium display but it currently uses an IPS panel so doesn't have great HDR or black-levels like mini-LED and OLED. This can be seen with the MacBook Air vs Pro laptop displays (3:50):





    When the brightness is higher, the uniform backlight raises the brightness of the black areas, reducing contrast. Mini-LED and OLED dim the black areas of the image.

    Mini-LED with ProMotion at the same price point would be a nice upgrade.
    Alex1N
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 14
    thttht Posts: 6,119member
    Marvin said:
    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    The price is ok for a premium display but it currently uses an IPS panel so doesn't have great HDR or black-levels like mini-LED and OLED. This can be seen with the MacBook Air vs Pro laptop displays (3:50):





    When the brightness is higher, the uniform backlight raises the brightness of the black areas, reducing contrast. Mini-LED and OLED dim the black areas of the image.

    Mini-LED with ProMotion at the same price point would be a nice upgrade.
    At Apple's 5K and 6K resolutions, it's a waiting game for enough Thunderbolt 5 devices to go into the installed base. Doubtful that Apple will resort to a cabled solution that uses 2 TB4 ports. (Maybe they should?) TB5 only started appearing with the M5 generation of Macs about 9 months ago. So end of 2026 might be a good time to sell a monitor that can do 120 Hz at 5K, 6K, and or even 120 Hz 8K, where there would actually be enough buyers to make some sales.

    For enthusiasts, graphics professionals, and text heavy users, miniLED or OLED would be worth it. Not so sure about the mass market. Even your picture here is pretty subtle for the mass market of users to notice. In normal room lighting, I think most people wouldn't notice the difference. Like, I've put the iPad Air 13" and the iPad Pro 13" side by side at the Apple store, and you have study it.

    It's really only in dark rooms where the black blacks would actually be noticed. Nice for me as I use my iPad in the dark all the time, but most people? 
    Alex1N
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  • Reply 10 of 14
    melgross said:

    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    I wouldn’t go near an Asus monitor. They have long term problems I’m not willing to deal with.
    I've been running 7 of them (all ProArt) in my studio for years without problems.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 14

    Marvin said:
    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    The price is ok for a premium display but it currently uses an IPS panel so doesn't have great HDR or black-levels like mini-LED and OLED. This can be seen with the MacBook Air vs Pro laptop displays (3:50):

    When the brightness is higher, the uniform backlight raises the brightness of the black areas, reducing contrast. Mini-LED and OLED dim the black areas of the image.

    Mini-LED with ProMotion at the same price point would be a nice upgrade.
    Oh for sure, we use Apple displays for HDR jobs, but for all other work we have Asus. Would love to have mini-led and ProMotion, but I'm afraid it will not come at a good price. We'll have to wait for competition. The 32" Asus is great for coding though.
    Alex1N
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 14
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,719member
    I expect pricey spec updates for a new Apple display. That it's a bad thing. Many customers will be very happy.

    What I'd like is maybe a not quite so premium 30" display. A 32" would be better but would cut into XDR sales. There are TV monitors that can do ok for casual viewing. To that point I'd be happy with a 30" version of my iMac's 5K display even without a mini-LED or OLED panel.

    It sucks that I can't use it as an external display without a hack that's beyond my skillset. Even then it would still be only 27". So I guess I'm wishing for (certainly not ever expecting) a display worthy of a 30" 5K iMac.
    Alex1N
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 14
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,766member
    tht said:
    Marvin said:
    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    The price is ok for a premium display but it currently uses an IPS panel so doesn't have great HDR or black-levels like mini-LED and OLED. This can be seen with the MacBook Air vs Pro laptop displays (3:50):





    When the brightness is higher, the uniform backlight raises the brightness of the black areas, reducing contrast. Mini-LED and OLED dim the black areas of the image.

    Mini-LED with ProMotion at the same price point would be a nice upgrade.
    At Apple's 5K and 6K resolutions, it's a waiting game for enough Thunderbolt 5 devices to go into the installed base. Doubtful that Apple will resort to a cabled solution that uses 2 TB4 ports. (Maybe they should?) TB5 only started appearing with the M5 generation of Macs about 9 months ago. So end of 2026 might be a good time to sell a monitor that can do 120 Hz at 5K, 6K, and or even 120 Hz 8K, where there would actually be enough buyers to make some sales.

    For enthusiasts, graphics professionals, and text heavy users, miniLED or OLED would be worth it. Not so sure about the mass market. Even your picture here is pretty subtle for the mass market of users to notice. In normal room lighting, I think most people wouldn't notice the difference. Like, I've put the iPad Air 13" and the iPad Pro 13" side by side at the Apple store, and you have study it.

    It's really only in dark rooms where the black blacks would actually be noticed. Nice for me as I use my iPad in the dark all the time, but most people? 
    That’s exactly right. I’ve found that the relatively minor increase in blacks are hardly noticeable. When making a direct comparator, you can see a small difference, but under most lighting conditions it’s invisable. For normal OLED screens that are larger than phone screens, the brightness is well below that of LCD screens. To me, the extra brightness is more important that the slightly better black. Additionally}y, brighter screens force out iris to close down, making those not perfect blacks to appear blacker. The excellent iPhones OLED and the excellent tandem OLED I’m typing on now, are truly great screens. But they are very expensive. The technology of a phone screens force and ,after o,ed screens is somewhat different. That’s why we have that even more expensive tandem OLED on out iPad Pro. To have one of those on a 14” laptop would add even more cost, and I can imagine that a 16” version would cost a heck of a lot more. As far as a 24 or 27” screen goes. Well anyone want to pay a good $10,000 for the monitor? Back in the 1990s I use to buy Barco graphics monitors for my company and they cost $19,000. But nobody spends that for a monitor anymore unless it’s for Tv production, the military, or weather forecasting.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 14
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,766member
    michelb76 said:
    melgross said:

    michelb76 said:
    Let's hope it's going to be price-competitive with the new 32" ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV.
    I wouldn’t go near an Asus monitor. They have long term problems I’m not willing to deal with.
    I've been running 7 of them (all ProArt) in my studio for years without problems.
    Good for you.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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