DisplayPort 2.0 Supports Up to Two 8K Displays or One 16K Display, Rollout Expected to Begin in Late 2020

VESA today announced the release of DisplayPort 2.0, the first major update to the standard since DisplayPort 1.4 in March 2016.

macbook pro displayport 2 0
DisplayPort 2.0 has a max effective bandwidth of 77.4 Gbps, nearly triple that of DisplayPort 1.4, enabling support for displays with up to 16K resolution, higher refresh rates, HDR support at higher resolutions, improved support for multiple display configurations, and more.

The increased bandwidth is the result of VESA leveraging Thunderbolt 3's physical layer. DisplayPort 2.0 is the first standard to support 8K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate with full-color 4:4:4 resolution and HDR-10 support.

displayport 2 0 bandwidth
DisplayPort 2.0 configuration examples via DisplayPort, USB-C, or Thunderbolt 3 ports, which will all support the new specification:

Single display resolutions
- One 16K (15360x8460) display @60Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
- One 10K (10240x4320) display @60Hz and 24 bpp 4:4:4 (no compression)

Dual display resolutions
- Two 8K (7680x4320) displays @120Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
- Two 4K (3840x2160) displays @144Hz and 24 bpp 4:4:4 (no compression)

Triple display resolutions
- Three 10K (10240x4320) displays @60Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
- Three 4K (3840x2160) displays @90Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (no compression)

DisplayPort 2.0 also supports VESA's new Panel Replay capability for improved power efficiency when connecting to high-resolution displays.

VESA has made the DisplayPort 2.0 specification available to manufacturers and expects the first products incorporating the standard to appear on the market by late 2020. DisplayPort 2.0 is backward compatible with previous versions of the standard and incorporates all of the key features of DisplayPort 1.4a.

DisplayPort 2.0 will certainly be beneficial to Apple's high-resolution products like the upcoming Pro Display XDR, and it will likely be supported on future Macs, but it is unclear when the company will adopt the standard.

Popular Stories

iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
Windows Vista

Apple Might Be Having Its Windows Vista Moment, Says Analyst

Thursday March 20, 2025 6:52 am PDT by
Is Apple experiencing a "Vista-like drift into systemically poor execution?" That was a question posed by well-known technology analyst Benedict Evans, in a recent blog post covering Apple's innovation and execution, or seemingly lack thereof as of late. He is referring to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized when it launched in 2007 due to software bugs,...
iPhone 17 Air Fanned Feature

First iPhone 17 Air Case Has Camera Bar, Camera Control Button Cutouts

Wednesday March 19, 2025 5:29 am PDT by
Serial leaker Sonny Dickson today shared an image of what he claims is a first look at a third-party case for Apple's iPhone 17 Air. "If you didn’t know an Air was coming, you'd swear it was a Google Pixel case," he said. Case manufacturers often obtain design specifications of upcoming iPhone models before their release by collaborating with Apple through official partnerships or...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

Latest iPhone 17 Pro Dummies Highlight Apple's New Part-Glass Design

Thursday March 20, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson has shared more dummy models of Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 series, with the latest lot revealing a noticeable shift in Apple's iPhone Pro model design that goes beyond the much-talked-about new rear camera bar. Dickson points out that the iPhone 17 Pro dummy models feature an outlined area on the back, beginning just below the camera module and extending to the...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have Five New Features

Tuesday March 18, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 and iOS 20 Must Include a Long List of Major Changes, EU Says

Wednesday March 19, 2025 10:26 am PDT by
The European Commission today announced a long list of changes that Apple is legally required to implement in future iOS 19 and iOS 20 updates. The announcement clarifies interoperability requirements that Apple is required to adhere to in the EU, under the Digital Markets Act, which has been fully enforced since March 2024. The changes will further open up the iPhone and its technologies to ...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 18, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...

Top Rated Comments

Zdigital2015 Avatar
75 months ago
Serious, MacRumors editors...the most important, well, relevant part of the Press Release was left out of this article.

From the Press Release:

When using only two lanes on the USB-C connector via DP Alt Mode to allow for simultaneous SuperSpeed USB data and video, DP 2.0 can enable such configurations as:

• Three 4K (3840×2160) displays @144Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
• Two 4Kx4K (4096×4096) displays (for AR/VR headsets) @120Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
• Three QHD (2560×1440) @120Hz and 24 bpp 4:4:4 (no compression)
• One 8K (7680×4320) display @30Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (no compression)

The above specs are much more relevant to most of the computing public in the near-term. The market penetration of 4K and subsequently 4K gaming and AR/VR applications is something we should all be paying attention to for the foreseeable future. Whoever in the Marketing Department at VESA came up with 10K as a bullet point gets props for creating it out of whole cloth, unless they know something we don’t know. Sure, a Medical Imaging monitor may hit 10K shortly, but consumers are still wrapping their head around 4K, much less 8K and higher. The 16K resolution is just absurd for almost every consumer front facing application. I love future proofing and high end specs as much as the next person, but driving a 4K display @144Hz or 4K VR@120Hz with full color and HDR is incredibly important in the immediate future. Hell, Digital Cinema Projectors are only pushing 4096x2160.

Of course, this sort of support is only going to be relevant to us (Mac users) when Intel revs the next Thunderbolt 3 controller to support DP 2.0. Alpine Ridge (2016-2017 MBP, 2017 iMac and iMac Pro) has DP 1.2 and Titan Ridge (2018-2019 MBP, 2018 Mac mini, 2019 iMac and 2019 Mac Pro) have DP 1.4, but DP 1.4 support is limited to Coffee Lake and above on is limited to the eDP connector for an LCD panel.

The most important thing is how the morass of USB-C 3.2, 3.2+2, USB 4.0 will interoperate (or not) with Thunderbolt 3 and when and if Thunderbolt 4 becomes a real thing or not and move users to DisplayPort 2.0 (or not). Certainly this connectivity will be integrated into PCIe-based AIB GPUs first and motherboards and controllers, CPUs second. This is where the rubber meets the road in terms of PCIe 4.0+ being relevant for most of us, aside from the possibilities of PCIe 4.0-based SSD controllers and NAND pushing into 5–7GBps Read/Write speeds on an m.2 NVMe stick.

The future is always just around the corner.

Source: https://www.displayport.org/pr/vesa-publishes-displayport-2-0-video-standard-enabling-support-for-beyond-8k-resolutions-higher-refresh-rates-for-4k-hdr-and-virtual-reality-applications/
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
millerlite Avatar
75 months ago
16K? Seriously? Unless your screen is as big as a house, I don't see how people benefit. Your eyes can only detect so much.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pearple Avatar
75 months ago
I want Firewire 200.000
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DHagan4755 Avatar
75 months ago
The 16K Apple Pro Display XDR monitor stand will cost $2,000.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kemal Avatar
75 months ago
Super. Will need active cables to get 1m length.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jicon Avatar
75 months ago
Awesome, I suppose? I'm guessing most laptops, Mac or PC, won't really benefit without a serious update to graphics chip, which itself brings about a new set of thermal challenges. On the desktop side, I suppose that likely just leaves the Mac Pro, and PC towers seriously capable of driving so many pixels?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)