LG working on Pro Display XDR successor & 2 other high-end monitors, reportedly for Apple

LG is reportedly developing a trio of new displays based on the existing Pro Display XDR and iMac display sizes, with a leaker claiming that they could be future Apple-branded monitors.

According to leaker @dylandkt, LG is making a display based on the specifications of the 24-inch iMac, another display based on an upcoming 27-inch iMac, and a third 32-inch display that could sport a custom chip — potentially released as a successor to the Pro Display XDR.

Dylan says that the three displays are currently housed in unbranded enclosures. However, the leaker added that it "can be assumed at the very least" that the 32-inch display could be Apple-branded.

Thread 2/4: The other display seems to be an improved 32 inch Pro Display XDR. Despite the lack of branding, It can be assumed at the very least that this display will be Apple branded.
— Dylan (@dylandkt) December 15, 2021

The 32-inch display and the 27-inch display both seem to support mini-LED display technology and a 120Hz variable refresh rate, the leaker added.

Rumors have suggested in the past that Apple could be planning on releasing a first-party external display or computer monitor cheaper than the Pro Display XDR. A rumor from a display analyst earlier in December also predicted that a new 27-inch iMac with an Apple Silicon chip could arrive in early 2022.

While @dylandkt has a relatively short track record of Apple rumors, the developer has correctly predicted upcoming Apple plans and features in the past — including the inclusion of an M1 chip in the iPad Pro and the upgraded webcams on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

35 Comments

entropys 4302 comments · 13 Years

About 2 years ago

Well for iMacs and the XDR monitor it seems. But I would love Apple to go back to making monitors with decent industrial design, priced around the Dell ultrasharp with premier colour range.

tht 5594 comments · 23 Years

Apple is certainly taking their time on this. It was a strategic error to discontinue a branded Apple monitor+dock. They should have shipped an Apple Thunderbolt 5K display in 2018. They really should have done it in 2016, but I digress.

I can understand the wait for XDR miniLED versions, but a 27" 5K monitor, sourced straight from the iMac, should have been shipping 2 years ago.

Would love to hear how their product marketing and finance folks made all these decisions. Better be a book. It would be a horror book, but those are fun to read too. Maybe it was a bargaining chip with LG for monitor development?

blastdoor 3564 comments · 15 Years

tht said:

Apple is certainly taking their time on this. It was a strategic error to discontinue a branded Apple monitor+dock. They should have shipped an Apple Thunderbolt 5K display in 2018. They really should have done it in 2016, but I digress.

I can understand the wait for XDR miniLED versions, but a 27" 5K monitor, sourced straight from the iMac, should have been shipping 2 years ago.

Would love to hear how their product marketing and finance folks made all these decisions. Better be a book. It would be a horror book, but those are fun to read too. Maybe it was a bargaining chip with LG for monitor development?

I’d say tactical marketing error rather than strategic error, but otherwise I agree.

An apple branded monitor is a marketing tool. Marketing-wise it’s nuts to have Mac users staring at a Dell logo all day. If they’re going to do that, then might as well put “intel inside” stickers on Macs too.

blastdoor said:

tht said:

Apple is certainly taking their time on this. It was a strategic error to discontinue a branded Apple monitor+dock. They should have shipped an Apple Thunderbolt 5K display in 2018. They really should have done it in 2016, but I digress.

I can understand the wait for XDR miniLED versions, but a 27" 5K monitor, sourced straight from the iMac, should have been shipping 2 years ago.

Would love to hear how their product marketing and finance folks made all these decisions. Better be a book. It would be a horror book, but those are fun to read too. Maybe it was a bargaining chip with LG for monitor development?

I’d say tactical marketing error rather than strategic error, but otherwise I agree.

An apple branded monitor is a marketing tool. Marketing-wise it’s nuts to have Mac users staring at a Dell logo all day. If they’re going to do that, then might as well put “intel inside” stickers on Macs too.

Who knows what the difference between tactics and strategy are here, but Apple left billions of revenue off the table by discontinuing monitors. A typical desktop setup in modern times, and I'm going back about 10 years here, is to have a laptop with an external monitor or two connected to it. When the 4th gen Macbook Pros came out in 2016, it should have been when this type of setup is mature, no dock dongle needed as it would have been in the monitor. Plug in the TB cable, everything is lit up, plug-n-play, and theoretically more "reliable" if it came from Apple. This is more or less how it works with my LG UF27, except that it only has 3 USBC in back. It could have Ethernet, SD card, the usual.

Apple sells about 20+ million Macs per year that could use an external monitor. With a take-up rate of 5% for a $1000 Apple monitor, 1m units per year, that's $1b per year in monitor sales alone. That's huge! Wasn't thinking about branding purposes at all.

bobolicious 1173 comments · 10 Years

Hopefully these new rumours will materialize into thin and light in a beautiful (not plastic?) design that has either vesa or rotation as part of a stand in the smaller sizes. I too would have been happy with a 27" 4K (vs 5k) usb3 thunderbolt display in 2016... I still work @ 110dpi like the original 2010~2011 cinema display.