Apple Reportedly Working on 90Hz Studio Display, iMac, iPad Air

A new rumor suggests Apple is developing 90Hz display technology that could make its way to future versions of the Studio Display, iPad Air, and 24-inch iMac, all of which currently feature 60Hz refresh rates.

studio display purple february
The claim, spotted by 9to5Mac, comes from an anonymous source who contacted the Upgrade podcast, hosted by Myke Hurley and Jason Snell. According to the source, Apple is working on "a higher refresh rate LCD display with a new liquid motion panel fixed at around 90Hz," with plans to implement the technology across multiple products.

Such a development would be particularly noteworthy for the Studio Display, which hasn't received any hardware updates since its March 2022 launch. Many Apple users had hoped to see a refreshed model before the end of 2024, amid on-again, off-again rumors about a potential upgrade featuring mini-LED technology and ProMotion support. Apple's higher-end Pro Display XDR has also remained unchanged since its 2019 debut.

Display analyst Ross Young, who is known for accurate predictions about Apple's display technology, reported in April 2023 that Apple had abandoned plans for a 27-inch monitor with mini-LED backlighting. That canceled project, which could have been a next-generation Studio Display, was said to include the use of ProMotion technology with refresh rates up to 120Hz. Earlier, Young had anticipated such a display launching in 2022, but the release never materialized.

According to the anonymous source, the 90Hz display technology will debut first in the next-generation M3 iPad Air, expected in early 2025, before expanding to other products. The 24-inch iMac, which just received an M4 update, likely wouldn't see this display improvement until late 2025 at the earliest.

The current Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K LCD panel with 60Hz refresh rate, P3 wide color support, and up to 600 nits brightness, starting at $1,599.

Related Roundups: iMac, iPad Air
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Top Rated Comments

MakeAppleAwesomeAgain Avatar
8 months ago
That's embarrassing; just make it 120Hz. They have all the technologies in-house.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mystery hill Avatar
8 months ago
90Hz?

$200 Android phones have 120Hz OLED panels.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
singularity0993 Avatar
8 months ago
With Thunderbolt 5 there's no reason to make it less than 120hz
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gpat Avatar
8 months ago
For the love of God stick a motherboard back there and make it an iMac like it was supposed to be in the first place.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vantelimus Avatar
8 months ago

Would 90Hz work with the older Thunderbolt 4 devices? Can't really think of any other reason they would go for 90 over 120Hz otherwise.

In a way I can understand it though, why release a 120Hz monitor that only works with like 2% of Macs out there at the moment? Once market share of TB5 is higher, we'll see 120Hz 5k devices take over.
Good observation. Thunderbolt 4 is 40Gbps and can support a 5k or 6k monitor at 60Hz. A 90Hz 5k monitor requires 31.85Gbps and a 120Hz 5k requires 42.36Gbps. So 120Hz 5k is just out of range for Thunderbolt 4.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
omenatarhuri Avatar
8 months ago
90hz? What an odd choice.

But it's more than 60hz, so take my money!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)