Ever since the Studio Display landed last April, Apple has been rumored to be working on an even better 27-inch monitor for desktop Macs. The alleged 27-inch display would use mini-LED backlighting, giving it superior contrast and high dynamic range, and ProMotion would have been supported, with variable refresh rates up to 120Hz.
It wasn’t clear how the new display would be positioned. It could have been a replacement for the Studio Display, which is already expensive enough to fit the role of a premium monitor with specs like HDR and variable refresh, or it could have been a new higher-end product that sits between the current Studio Display and the Pro Display XDR.
It’s a moot point, at least according to Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants. In a subscribers-only tweet, he claims that Apple has “killed off” the display “for now.” The company was initially expected to release the new monitor in 2022, and reportedly even shipped some panels from suppliers, but for unknown reasons never announced it.
However, in a tweet Tuesday, Ming-Chi Kuo countered Young’s report saying a mini-LED display is still in development and “slated for mass production in 2024 or early 2025.” He said the new display will have “all the features one would expect from a high-end monitor,” with a design that’s thinner and has narrower bezel than the current offerings.
As far as the delay, it could be that the display business is just not doing well enough for Apple to justify a new entry yet, or that the costs to make this new display made it less profitable than the Studio Display. Maybe there’s better technology coming up soon enough that it’s worth waiting for. Perhaps when testing the first batch of displays, Apple found enough issues to go back to the drawing board. Honestly, there are a dozen different potential reasons, and nobody seems to have any insight into what they are.
We also don’t know if this affects plans for a 27-inch iMac, which has been rumored to be in development for a while. Apple discontinued its larger iMac back in March 2022 when the Studio Display debuted. Apple isn’t expected to update the iMac until 2024 when the M3 processor is available. Apple curently uses mini-LED tech for the 12.0-inch iPad Pro and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro displays.
So, if you need a display for your Mac and you want to stick with Apple products, there are two options: either a Studio Display that costs more than it should for the technology at $1,600 (and has annoyances like the complete absence of physical controls–even a power button), or the super high-end professional Pro Display XDR that’s due for an update alongside the Mac Pro.
Frankly, we think anyone buying a monitor for their Mac should check out our best Mac Monitors guide and choose a quality third-party monitor that meets or beats the Studio Display at a fraction of the price.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor
I have written about technology for my entire professional life - over 25 years. I enjoy learning about how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.