A key upgrade for the Studio Display that fans have been asking for likely confirmed by Apple

The original Studio Display launched back in March 2022 with an impressive 5K Retina display but an equally unimpressive 60 Hz refresh rate. For a starting price of $1,600, fans expected a higher refresh rate since Apple’s other devices like the iPhone and iPad already had models with 120 Hz refresh rate. Fortunately, that may change with the next generation Studio Display.

While Apple has not shared a timeline for the next Studio Display, it is long due for an upgrade and is expected to be announced early next year. What Apple has upgraded in a timely fashion is the iPad Pro, now powered by the M5 chip. The new hardware accompanied by iPadOS 26 lends to a productivity focussed experience that would warrant using the iPad with an external display (not necessarily the Studio Display).

What’s more interesting is that the new iPad Pro is now capable of supporting external displays up to 120 Hz, a feat the M3 iPad Pro was incapable of. This could be an indicator that Apple’s own external display will come with support for 120 Hz refresh rate. However, it should be noted that the new iPad Pro is capable of supporting 120 Hz at 4K resolution on an external display and the Studio Display is already a 5K panel.

This isn’t the first time a refresh rate upgrade has been tipped for the next Studio Display. A recent Bloomberg report hinted at the same and it is also believed that the panel will be upgraded to a mini-LED or an OLED/ Tandem OLED.