Yesterday, display analyst Ross Young said that Apple had scrapped plans for a new 27-inch external display with mini-LED screen technology. This was rumored as either the second-generation Apple Studio Display, or a higher-end model that would slot in between it and the Pro Display XDR.
However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today disagrees that the project has been scrapped altogether, instead saying that he believes the product is set to arrive – eventually. Kuo says mass production is set to begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
Kuo said the display would include all the features “one would expect from a high-end monitor,” likely in reference to 120Hz ProMotion support. It will also be using a new glass material backplane, a change from what is usually seen in Apple’s current lineup of products with screens.
Kuo says the new backplane will allow for the panel to be thinner and for the overall display bezels to be thinner, enabling a sleeker overall chassis.
The Studio Display launched in 2022, alongside the Mac Studio. Assuming Kuo’s 2025 estimate is accurate, that would mean the display would not be updated for about three years. However, that is not an unusually long time when you look at the long tail of the Apple external display roadmap.
The Pro Display XDR is more due for a refresh, launching in 2019. For a while, there were some rumors that indicated a new Pro Display XDR would arrive alongside the launch of the new Mac Pro. 9to5Mac has seen evidence that an Apple display with 7K resolution has been in development. That could be the eventual Pro Display XDR successor, whenever it arrives.
Of course – all these rumors may never come to fruition. As my colleague Zac Hall pointed out yesterday, the Apple Studio Display has a tangible benefit today: It exists.
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