Apple could make its own display with an A13 Bionic chip built-in, report says

Apple could make its own display with an A13 chip built-in, report says
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple is reportedly making a new high-end display, and it should contain some of the same processing technologies that you find in its best iPhones.

The screen would follow the Pro Display XDR, a high-end external monitor that costs £4599 / $4999 / AU$8499. According to sources speaking to 9to5Mac,  the new model will feature both the A13 Bionic chip and Neural Engine.

Both pieces of tech are made by Apple, so it's quite likely they could make their way into other Apple products. The A13 Bionic is the same processor that powers the iPhone 11 range. The Neural Engine, meanwhile, serves to accelerate machine learning tasks – it features in Apple's iPhones and iPads, as well as Macs that use the M1 chip.

Having both built into a monitor would allow the screen to take some of the processing heft from the device attached to it. This could save the computer's battery life and reduce wear and tear on its processor. It could make for a beefed-up computing experience, as the two chips combine their powers, and could even add features like AirPlay 2 to the monitor, meaning you could stream music directly to it.

There's no word on specifics like size or resolution, but as with the Pro Display XDR, don't expect this one to come cheap.

Apple previously partnered with LG to make a more affordable monitor for its Mac computers, but as of January 2021, the LG Ultrafine 5K Monitor stopped being sold by Apple in certain countries. It's currently unavailable from the Apple Store in the UK, but is still sold by Apple in the US and Australia.

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Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.