Apple currently sells two monitors: the $1,599 Studio Display and the $4,999 Pro Display XDR. In most respects, unsurprisingly, the latter is a far better-specced product. But the Studio Display has one curious advantage: it has a 12MP Center Stage webcam, whereas the XDR has no webcam at all.
That disparity will soon be corrected, if the latest leak can be believed. Eagle-eyed reporters at 9to5Mac noticed that macOS 26.1 Tahoe beta 3 contains code references that point, fairly unmistakably, to the XDR getting a webcam in an upcoming refresh.
One reference mentions “Pro Display XDR Camera,” while another mentions “Pro Display XDR Desk View Camera.” The latter phrasing suggests that the camera will support Apple’s popular Center Stage feature.
Code references like this sometimes point to hardware releases months in advance, but in this case, we probably won’t have long to wait. Apple is expected to launch a flurry of new products in the remainder of this fall, headlined by a new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro, but likely also including the AirTag 2, the HomePod mini 3, a new Apple TV… and two new monitors.
The new products could start arriving as early as this week. Keep an eye on Macworld for all the latest announcements.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.