Apple's next-generation Pro Display XDR will feature a built-in iPhone chip like the Studio Display to enable new functionality, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The Pro Display XDR originally launched alongside the redesigned Mac Pro in December 2019, becoming the first external display from the company since 2011. The 32-inch high-end display seeks to rival professional reference monitors at a $4,999 price point.
When the Studio Display launched in March 2022, it was the first Apple external display to contain an Apple silicon chip. Apple chose to use the A13 Bionic, a chip that originally launched in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro in 2019.
The chip facilitates features like Center Stage on the built-in 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera. The current Pro Display XDR does not have a camera, so a built-in camera may be likely for the second-generation given the latest chip rumor.
The A13 also enables the Studio Display to run a full version of iOS, so it seems almost certain that any future Pro Display XDR with an Apple silicon chip will do the same. Running a version of iOS enables Apple to update and iterate on the display's features in the same framework as many of the company's other devices. For example, it has tweaked the camera quality of the Studio Display over time.
Apple is believed to be working on several next-generation monitors, but little is known about what the new devices may offer other than technologies like mini-LED and ProMotion. Gurman believes that the Apple silicon Mac Pro is further along in development than the new Pro Display XDR, which is still expected to emerge this year, so it may yet be some time before it launches.
