What to expect from Apple Studio Display Pro

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A table of desktop Macs. Going clockwise around the table, starting at the front: the Mac Studio with Studio Display (height-adjustable stand and nano texture glass), the iMac, Mac Pro with Pro Display XDR (with Pro Stand) and Mac mini with Studio Display (tilt stand).
Leaks indicate Apple's Studio Display will soon be joined by an improved version.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

An enhanced version of the Apple Studio Display is expected soon with a better, brighter LCD. The “Pro” version be out before the end of March, according to a reliable source.

Any Mac user in the market for a new external monitor should know what is about to join Apple’s product lineup.

Studio Display Pro will boast mini-LCD

The new screen reportedly will build on the Apple Studio Display that debuted in spring 2022. That current model is for the “prosumer” market, as it sports a 27-inch 5K LCD, a webcam and other high-end features. But it can’t match the screen quality of the $4,999 Apple Pro Display XDR.

A year after the original, Apple reportedly will launch a “pro” version in the same size. The major change will be a mini-LED display.

For backlighting, mini-LED screens use thousands of LEDs that measure 0.2 millimeters or less —approximately one-fifth the size of regular LEDs. As a result, manufacturers can cram many more of them into a display. The result is higher contrast, blacker blacks, improved brightness and better power efficiency.

Apple has embraced the tech and uses it in the 16- and 14-inch MacBook Pro as well as the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Coming in Q1 2023

Obviously, the Apple Studio Display Pro didn’t get announced last week along with the new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models. But it will allegedly reach customers in the first three months of 2023. It may debut at the same time as the new Mac Pro at an expected Apple March event.

Pricing is unknown at this time. The original, 2022 version starts at $1599 — presumably, the mini-LED version will be more. Especially if it includes other enhancements.

The product leaks come from Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants. His contacts at companies that provide Apple with display panels have allowed him to accurately predict upcoming products in the past.

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