I cannot get the new Apple Studio display out of my head. The kinda disappointing specs leave me begging for answers. I'm not here to complain but to talk about what's might be the reasoning behind the specs we see in the Apple Studio Display.
It seems like everyone (including me) were expecting a 120hz ProMotion panel. Apple choose the same pixel densities as before (beeing 218ppi). So for a 27" model we would expect 5K at 120hz. Assuming Apple will stick with thunderbolt hardware for the foreseeable future, it seems like it's not possible to carry this signal over the currently available cables and display interfaces (which are mainly Displayport 1.2a and 1.4a over Thunderbolt) 5k@120hz would need the new displayport 2.0 over a thunderbolt cable (Alt mode).
The DP2.0 standard was finalised in 2019 and hardware (displays+GPU's) were initially expected to arrive in 2020. But 2020 came and went with no new hardware. 2021 suffered the same fate and now 2022 is here with no sign of any display which will include this new standard, not even an announcement.
Looking at the future, I'm still not giving up hope Apple can pioneer new display specs. Apple now makes both the display and GPU chips. (I know they use LG panels, but they seem to have a solid relationship) Rumors suggest Apple is still making a mini-led ProMotion display which coincidentally seems slated around the time the M2 chip should arrive. Will the M2 GPU support displayport 2.0? And will it allow Apple to take a leap in display specs?
Apple's current display lineup has huge gap between the 32" $5000 XDR pro and the new $1600 27" Studio Display. It would make sense to have an option in between. Maybe a refreshed 32" 6K at a new price point around $2500 to $3000 and bump the XDR pro to 7K or 8K and keep it at $5000. Does this make sense?
It seems like everyone (including me) were expecting a 120hz ProMotion panel. Apple choose the same pixel densities as before (beeing 218ppi). So for a 27" model we would expect 5K at 120hz. Assuming Apple will stick with thunderbolt hardware for the foreseeable future, it seems like it's not possible to carry this signal over the currently available cables and display interfaces (which are mainly Displayport 1.2a and 1.4a over Thunderbolt) 5k@120hz would need the new displayport 2.0 over a thunderbolt cable (Alt mode).
The DP2.0 standard was finalised in 2019 and hardware (displays+GPU's) were initially expected to arrive in 2020. But 2020 came and went with no new hardware. 2021 suffered the same fate and now 2022 is here with no sign of any display which will include this new standard, not even an announcement.
Looking at the future, I'm still not giving up hope Apple can pioneer new display specs. Apple now makes both the display and GPU chips. (I know they use LG panels, but they seem to have a solid relationship) Rumors suggest Apple is still making a mini-led ProMotion display which coincidentally seems slated around the time the M2 chip should arrive. Will the M2 GPU support displayport 2.0? And will it allow Apple to take a leap in display specs?
Apple's current display lineup has huge gap between the 32" $5000 XDR pro and the new $1600 27" Studio Display. It would make sense to have an option in between. Maybe a refreshed 32" 6K at a new price point around $2500 to $3000 and bump the XDR pro to 7K or 8K and keep it at $5000. Does this make sense?