Brighter and More Contrast: New Apple Studio Display 2 with Mini-LED, HDR, and 90 Hz in the Coming Months?
[11:58 Fri,13.February 2026 by Thomas Richter]
From the Apple Roadmap 2026 leaked some time ago (www.slashcam.de/news/single/Apple-Roadmap-2026---iMac-Pro-mit-M5-Max-und-MacBo-19713.html), it was clear that Apple would finally introduce a new Studio Display this year. And indeed, according to new rumors, it should be ready in the first half of the year, meaning in the coming weeks or months, and the Studio Display, unchanged since March 2022, will finally receive an update. According to information from well-known Apple leaker Mark Gurman, the new Studio Display will be externally very similar to the old one and will also be 27" in size with the same 5K resolution – so the innovations are limited to the internal components. These include:
Apple Studio Display
The Innovations of the Apple Studio Display 2
- the biggest improvement naturally concerns the core, i.e., the display technology – as previously suspected, Apple will use a panel with Mini-LEDs, as is already integrated into the MacBook Pro. Compared to the previous IPS LED panel with global backlighting without local dimming zones and a brightness of 600 nits, a Mini-LED panel with very likely thousands of local dimming zones offers several advantages, such as significantly higher brightness (probably over 1,000 nits), much higher contrast (thanks to the dimming zones), deeper blacks, and true HDR representation with a wider dynamic range.
- and this is the next improvement over the current Studio Display: the ability to display true HDR.
- a higher refresh rate: the previous maximum of 60 Hz is naturally no longer up to date. The rumor sources are just not entirely in agreement on whether Apple will increase it to 90 or even 120 Hz.
- the brain of the Studio Display will also be renewed: instead of the now very old A13 Bionic chip, Apple will use the current version, the more than twice as powerful A19 (or even A19 Pro) for tasks such as webcam image processing, audio processing (e.g., Spatial Audio effects), and smart functions.
Apple Studio Display
When will the Studio Display arrive and how much will it cost?
Unfortunately, the rumors say nothing yet about the price – the current one costs around 1,600 Euros – or the interfaces of the Studio Display 2; it is only clear that it will be introduced in the coming months. They are also silent about the second new Apple display mentioned in earlier rumors that is supposed to arrive this year (although some sources speak of a 32" model in addition to the 27" version).
Otherwise, according to the Roadmap (www.slashcam.de/news/single/Apple-Roadmap-2026---iMac-Pro-mit-M5-Max-und-MacBo-19713.html), other new introductions are scheduled for this year, including new iMacs such as the iMac Pro with M5 Max, a Mac mini (M5/M5 Pro), and a Mac Studio (M5 Max/M5 Ultra), as well as new notebooks such as – for the first time – a low-cost MacBook with A18 Pro, a MacBook Air with M5, and MacBook Pro models with M5 and later M6.
Alternatives
Those who do not want to wait for the Studio Display 2 – or already know that it will be too expensive – can find alternatives among the following 5L options, ranging from the ASUS ProArt PA27JCV with 27 inches and 5K (5120 × 2880) for about 750–900 Euros, the Samsung ViewFinity S9 (27 inches, 5120 × 2880) for around 980–1,020 Euros, to the ASUS ProArt Display PA32QCV with 31.5 inches and 6K (6016 × 3384) for about 1,350–1,600 Euros, and the LG UltraFine 6K with 31.5 inches and 6144 × 3456 pixels for currently around 1,900–2,200 Euros.
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