Rumors about the development of an OLED MacBook Pro have been circulating for some time and we’re inclined to give them some credence.
Apple hasn’t said anything official, but several sources claim that the Cupertino-based tech giant will eventually launch MacBooks with OLED panels. Given the unofficial nature of these reports, no one knows when these alleged laptops will be released, or if they will ever manifest themselves.
Although we don’t have anything concrete about the OLED MacBook Pro, frequent rumors make us suspect that Apple is at least considering manufacturing this type of laptop. Here’s everything we’ve heard about the OLED MacBook Pros so far.
MacBook Pro OLED: rumored release date
According to Ross Young, CEO of research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants, the OLED MacBook Pros are coming, but you’ll have to wait a bit. Speaking during a webinar with Bloomberg’s Woo Jin Ho, he stated that the launch of these products is still at least three years away.
Why so far into the future? According to Young, it all comes down to the supply chain. It looks like it will take a few years for Apple’s partners to develop the ability to mass produce laptop-sized OLED displays. That’s why Young says we won’t see proper deployment of these new panels until 2027 at the latest.
This somewhat contradicts 2022 reports where Young claimed that OLED MacBooks would arrive in 2024. Ross also said that a MacBook Pro with OLED could launch in 2026. While MacBooks may not get OLED panels until 2027 according to this Latest report, Ross still says that the first OLED iPads will arrive in 2024.
A timeline by Samsung Securities estimates that the MacBook Pro will get OLED displays in 2026. That’s in line with Ross Young’s most optimistic prediction.
MacBook Air OLED
In addition to OLED MacBook Pros, we’ve also heard rumors about possible MacBook Air laptops with OLED panels. I wanted to briefly discuss that rumor here, as it relates to the OLED MacBook Pros.
In April 2023, we reported that an OLED MacBook Air could arrive before a new OLED MacBook Pro. According the electric (through MacRumors), Samsung Display is developing a 13.4-inch OLED panel for an upcoming MacBook Air model.
According to the report, Apple chose Samsung Display over LG Display as the latter is supposedly developing OLED displays for the next generation of 11 and 13 inches. iPad Pro models and does not have enough production capacity for the MacBook Air. The Elec claims that Apple wants to sequentially launch the new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with OLED displays.
This is speculation on my part, but if OLED MacBook Pros supposedly launch in 2027, then I don’t see an OLED MacBook Air arriving in 2024. It seems more logical to launch OLED MacBooks less than three years apart. If, for example, Apple releases an OLED MacBook Air in spring 2026, then an early 2027 release for OLED MacBook Pros makes more sense. But again, this is speculation.
MacBook OLED: other rumors
Beyond persistent reports about the development of MacBooks with OLED panels, we haven’t heard many rumors about the possible specifications or design of these laptops. We can assume they will include Apple’s latest M-series chips at that time, but it’s unclear if the MacBooks will receive an updated design.
According to Young, these OLED screens would use what he has called a “tandem stack.” This novel technology stacks two red, green and blue (RGB) light-emitting layers on top of each other to increase brightness and improve energy efficiency.
Apart from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro equipped with mini LED, 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, most MacBooks and iPads still have LCD screens. He iPhone 15 family and the apple watch 9With their smaller screens, they already use OLED, so it’s not surprising to see Apple wanting to adopt this technology for its larger products as well.
An interesting fact is that The Elec claims that the development of a 13.4-inch OLED panel for the MacBook Air is supposedly a test for mass production of MacBook Pro models with OLED panels.
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At best, OLED MacBooks are rumored, which means you should take everything we’ve detailed above with healthy skepticism. If what we’ve heard is true, we probably won’t see these laptops manifest until 2027 at the earliest.
That said, the prospect of OLED MacBooks is exciting. The mini-LED displays found on the current 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro provide vibrant images, they don’t have the deep contrast of OLED panels. Although OLED burnout could be a concern, the benefits of OLED technology are too good to ignore.
We’ll update this page as we hear more reports, so be sure to check back soon.
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