Apple could give next-gen iMac 24 and Studio Display a 90Hz screenThis would be a considerable upgrade on the current 60Hz displaysNotably, though, it would stop short of a full ‘ProMotion’ upgrade to 120Hz

Apple’s next-gen iMac 24-inch could benefit from a major upgrade with its display, as could a future Studio Display monitor (and iPad Air).

This rumor (add seasoning, and plenty of it) was shared by 9 to 5 Mac and comes from the ‘Upgrade’ podcast, the hosts (Myke Hurley and Jason Snell) of which were contacted by an anonymous source making the claims about the possible display upgrade.

The theory is that Apple is working on a “higher refresh rate LCD display with a new liquid motion panel” and this will have a 90Hz refresh rate, with the screen coming to the next-gen iPad Air M3, and also the iMac 24-inch and next-gen Studio Display.

Currently, the LCD panels on those devices offer a 60Hz refresh rate, so this would be a considerable upgrade – but perhaps not as big a leap as some would hope for (we’ll come back to that shortly).

The source of the rumor just mentions the ‘iMac 24-inch’ getting the 90Hz treatment, but we can draw the conclusion that this must be the model for 2025 (with M5 chip) – or a later one, even – seeing as obviously we’d have heard all about it already if the imminent iMac M4 refresh was receiving this.

What the iMac M4 does offer, screen-wise, is a new nano-texture glass option, which means the 4.5K Retina display will better handle reflections and glare in well-lit environments.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Analysis: A refreshing change

Why is the refresh rate so important? A higher rate means the screen refreshes more often, and more frames appearing every second equals a smoother picture. That’s important not just for gaming – where smoothness is vital (assuming your GPU can push the necessary amount of frames per second) – but also for everyday tasks like scrolling down a web page or document.

In theory, we’ll see this new 90Hz screen on the iPad Air (with M3), which is thought to be launching early next year. However, it’ll likely be late in 2025 before we see the iMac (M5) upgraded from 60Hz with this display (because, as noted, the iMac M4 isn’t even out yet – not quite).

Of course, we must be careful not to put too much stock in any rumor, and this one has a few folks scratching their heads – mainly around why Apple if it has a screen upgrade in the works, wouldn’t grace these devices with a 120Hz (ProMotion) display. (As seen on the iPhone, where it impresses – and also the iPad Pro M4).

There could be issues related to the cost of the 120Hz panel, perhaps, or relative product positioning and considerations along those lines – a ‘Pro’ tech for Pro-branded devices? (That said, there have been some consistent rumors that all iPhone 17 models will get ProMotion displays, so we shall have to see if Apple is gracing non-Pro variants with the screens next year.)

We guess we’ll find out if there is some truth to this rumor before long because if so, we’d expect some of the well-known purveyors of display-related Apple gossip to be chiming in on this soon enough – or maybe debunking the idea. Stay tuned.

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