Apple is Reportedly Working on New 27″ Studio Display

Apple is reportedly working on a new version of its $1,599 27-inch Studio Display, which was released alongside the first Mac Studio in Spring 2022. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the new display could launch in 2026 and follow the first M5-based Macs expected for later this year.

“I’m told that Apple is currently testing prototypes of a display — code-named J427 — that should arrive by 2026. It will be a successor to the current Studio Display, rather than the Pro Display XDR, and features a design similar to the 2022 model. It also will have roughly the same size screen,” Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter yesterday.

Apple’s external monitors are quite expensive, especially the 32-inch $5,000 Pro Display XDR released back in 2019. The company’s current Studio Display is a 5K monitor with a 600 nits peak brightness, which pales in comparison to the 1600 neats on the Apple Pro Display XDR.

One standout feature of the Apple Studio Display is the 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Center Stage, which keeps users centered in the frame as they move around during video calls. This Center Stage feature is powered by a built-in A13 Bionic chip, which also enables support for “Hey Siri” and spatial audio with the six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio

While Apple’s current “27 Studio Display is more expensive than the base 24” iMac priced at $1,299, Gurman believes that Apple could eventually bring back a larger-screen iMac. The Intel-based, 27-inch iMac was discontinued in 2022 to leave room for the new Mac Studio and Studio Display, and the 27-inch iMac Pro with Intel Xeon CPU had been discontinued a year earlier.

In other Apple-related news, Gurman’s latest newsletter reiterates that Apple is planning to reveal its new iPhone SE on Wednesday, February 19 with an official launch later this month. It also mentions internal discussions about the potential for ads in Apple Maps to improve the company’s services revenue.