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5 Apple Products to Get OLED Displays

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Apple plans to upgrade several iPads and Macs with OLED displays over the next three years, according to a new DigiTimes report.

Oled-iPads-and-MackBook-Pro-Notch.jpg

The following five devices will receive OLED displays between 2026 and 2029, according to the Taiwanese publication's industry sources:
  • iPad mini: 2026
  • MacBook Pro: Late 2026 or early 2027
  • iPad Air: 2027
  • iMac: 2028 or 2029
  • MacBook Air: 2028 or 2029
OLED displays have better overall image quality compared to LCD displays, thanks to richer colors and higher contrast ratio with true blacks.

All current iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad Pro models already have OLED displays.

While the iPad Pro features so-called "Tandem OLED" technology that uses two OLED panels for increased brightness, and ProMotion support for up to a 120Hz refresh rate, the report said the iPad Air will have a single-stack OLED display and an LTPS backplane, meaning it will have lower brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. These limitations would make sense given that the iPad Air is priced hundreds of dollars less than the iPad Pro.

It is unclear if Apple ever plans to release a Studio Display XDR with an OLED display. The monitor currently has mini-LED backlighting.

The entry-level iPad and MacBook Neo are expected to stick with LCD displays.

Article Link: 5 Apple Products to Get OLED Displays
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/20/five-apple-products-to-get-oled-displays/
Last edited:
"While the iPad Pro features so-called "Tandem OLED" technology..."
It is, in fact, literally tandem OLED: two OLED light-emitting layers stacked together, allowing greater brightness while reducing the strain on each layer. LG Display also calls the technology Tandem OLED, so it isn’t merely Apple dressing up an ordinary screen with a fancy trademark.

“So-called” makes it sound like Tandem OLED is an alias the technology uses while evading federal authorities.
 
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Reactions: T'hain Esh Kelch and snipr125
iPad Air with OLED will definitely have a lower refresh rate than the Pro. While an OLED iMac will be nice, want to see a bigger iMac too. Prices will definitely increase. iMac with OLED and 24" could start at $1799
 
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Honestly, I doubt it's going to happen in 2026 or 2027 for the MB Pro... Apple is already dealing with Ramgeddons and it must be a real struggle to keep the prices reasonable. Not a good timing to add a more pricey OLED screen.
 
I still don’t want absolutely everything to be OLED. My monitor being OLED would add nothing as I don’t consume content at my desk, but would introduce the possibility of burnin and likely PWM. My iPad being OLED would guarantee PWM and migraines. I love my LG C1 (flicker free, mind you) for watching movies and playing games, and having an OLED phone is great for the viewing angles (I don’t seem to use the phone enough to get headaches, or maybe it’s the size).

There’s still advantages to LCD in my opinion for reading focused applications. PWM flicker aside, I find it less fatiguing to look at a lower contrast screen for many hours at a time. Paper does not have perfect black levels! I wonder how much of the migraines could be attributed to that alone.
 
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TheBeverage said:
I still don’t want absolutely everything to be OLED. My monitor being OLED would add nothing as I don’t consume content at my desk, but would introduce the possibility of burnin and likely PWM. My iPad being OLED would guarantee PWM and migraines. I love my LG C1 (flicker free, mind you) for watching movies and playing games, and having an OLED phone is great for the viewing angles (I don’t seem to use the phone enough to get headaches, or maybe it’s the size).

There’s still advantages to LCD in my opinion for reading focused applications. PWM flicker aside, I find it less fatiguing to look at a lower contrast screen for many hours at a time. Paper does not have perfect black levels! I wonder how much of the migraines could be attributed to that alone.
Click to expand...

The Tandem OLED on the iPP has the worst PWM flicker on any Apple device I owned so far, I have to manually set it to 50% brightness for it to be tolerable, and switch off any kind of dimming modes (Auto brightness, night shift and true tone).
 
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I care less about the type of LED than I do about features like 120Hz and HDR support. Those are two things the MacBook Pro has (without OLED) that I really like and now demand on any Apple device I use. That would be a more significant upgrade than "blacker blacks". But it sounds like when the MacBook Air finally gets OLED in 2029 or whatever, it will still be 60Hz and no HDR. No thanks, then. I get why they will do that, because adding those things would cause someone like me to buy the Air over the Pro, and they want me to buy the Pro. And, predictably, I will.
 
For the Macbooks I really hope they keep an LCD option. I enjoy keeping my dock and menu bar on the screen and hate full-screen apps

I don't want to have to think about screensavers again, or making sure I change wallpapers from time to time, or switch from dark to light mode, or avoid using letterboxed video, like I do on my phone

I also keep Macs longer than I do phones, typically 5-7 years, so more time for burn-in to accumulate
 
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