MacBook Air With OLED Display is Still Years Away

[turbineseaplane]

As long as Apple loyalists keep pushing Apple's edge-case specs as absolute must-haves (especially on entry-level laptops), you will always be stuck with yesteryear's technology. Your comment illustrates exactly why Apple's so-called "professional" products are still using 15-year-old display tech.

Agreed. I'd also argue that OLED would fit great on a MBA and for the users of such a machine.

It just flat out looks gorgeous and that type of user is quite likely to appreciate it, especially when consuming content on it.

It's completely outdated thinking to assume even general users don't love beautiful displays.

These "normal" users are accustomed to the gorgeous displays on iPhones and Apple Watches.

Even the iPhone 17e has an OLED

The "e" ... not just the main 17 and Pro models and Air.

 

[jakey rolling]

So you want a Pro feature for a non-Pro price?

You do realize that "ProMotion" is just Apple marketing speak for a higher-than 60Hz display, right? Just because Apple uses the word "Pro" in their promotional materials doesn't mean it's actually a "Pro" feature.

120Hz displays on laptops with a "non-Pro price" are actually pretty commonplace.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You do realize that "ProMotion" is just Apple marketing speak for a higher-than 60Hz display, right? Just because Apple uses the word "Pro" in their promotional materials doesn't mean it's actually a "Pro" feature.

120Hz displays on laptops with a "non-Pro price" are actually pretty commonplace.

Really shows you how well marketing works though, doesn't it?

Apple can attach the "Pro" moniker to a toilet and suddenly that latrine requires "professional" users.

 

[jakey rolling]

Many do not understand that Bill of Materials Apple custom makes is very precise in their design targets and costing.

Many more do not understand that this isn't some kind of unique trait. Your statement is true of pretty much every engineering firm producing every possible product that has ever existed in the history of manufacturing.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Many more do not understand that this isn't some kind of unique trait. Your statement is true of pretty much every engineering firm producing every possible product that has ever existed in the history of manufacturing.

Jakey -- this isn't just "any" engineering or manufacturing operation.

This is "Apple"

(think of someone saying it in a very pretentious and obnoxiously deliberate way)

 

[jakey rolling]

On the first point the distinction matters less than it might appear. Whether Apple withholds technology until justified or introduces it when justified, the outcome is the same. A coherent ladder where no rung gets disrupted before the margin supports it. The direction of the logic doesn't change the architecture.

On the second point. OLED at sub $1,000 on Windows laptops exists. OLED at sub $1,000 on a MacBook Air doesn't. Those aren't the same thing. Apple isn't pricing against Windows components. They're pricing against their own margin requirements, their own supply agreements, and their own support commitments. An OLED Air at $1,099 that raises the price or cuts the margin isn't OLED fitting the price point. It's OLED breaking it.

That is a lot of words to basically say the same thing I did: "Apple will continue to offer outdated, high-priced, cheap technology to their loyal customers as long as their loyal customers will continue to unquestioningly accept whatever Apple offers them."

 

[Astuces iOS]

There were literally users commenting before you in this article asking for oled

I should talk with them, the screen on the MacBook Pro is really good ! Even the Studio Display doesn’t have trash oled…

 

[bigglow]

Many more do not understand that this isn't some kind of unique trait. Your statement is true of pretty much every engineering firm producing every possible product that has ever existed in the history of manufacturing.

Within the context of x86 they used standardized parts that sockets in or DIMMs in.

Can you socket in any Intel/AMD/Nvidia chip onto a modern Mac? How about any PC RAM? Will it work?

 

[jakey rolling]

Within the context of x86 they used standardized parts that sockets in or DIMMs in.

Can you socket in any Intel/AMD/Nvidia chip onto a modern Mac? How about any PC RAM? Will it work?

I'm pretty sure this article was about display technology. Why do you feel the need to switch the discussion to RAM or CPU technology? Who are you trying to convince here? Yourself?

Apple choosing to include RAM on an SoC and other manufacturers using commodity parts for certain components of their laptops doesn't really say anything about the "precision" of any company's "design targets" or "costing".

 

[snipr125]

Agreed. I'd also argue that OLED would fit great on a MBA and for the users of such a machine.

It just flat out looks gorgeous and that type of user is quite likely to appreciate it, especially when consuming content on it.

It's completely outdated thinking to assume even general users don't love beautiful displays.

These "normal" users are accustomed to the gorgeous displays on iPhones and Apple Watches.

They could have least added a Quantum dot layer to the current MBA lcd screen, would have made a big difference with colour volume.

 

[ProMotionPotato]

That is a lot of words to basically say the same thing I did: "Apple will continue to offer outdated, high-priced, cheap technology to their loyal customers as long as their loyal customers will continue to unquestioningly accept whatever Apple offers them."

That's not what either of us said. You said Apple withholds technology until forced. I said the direction of the logic doesn't change the architecture. Neither of those is what you just wrote. What you just wrote is a different argument entirely. And a weaker one. Because it requires Apple's customers to be uninformed and unquestioning. The MacBook Neo sold out on preorder in hours. A significant portion of those buyers were first time Mac owners converting from Windows. Not loyal customers unquestioningly accepting whatever Apple offers. People making a rational decision at a price point that didn't exist before Tuesday.

 

[jakey rolling]

That's not what either of us said. You said Apple withholds technology until forced. I said the direction of the logic doesn't change the architecture. Neither of those is what you just wrote. What you just wrote is a different argument entirely. And a weaker one. Because it requires Apple's customers to be uninformed and unquestioning. The MacBook Neo sold out on preorder in hours. A significant portion of those buyers were first time Mac owners converting from Windows. Not loyal customers unquestioningly accepting whatever Apple offers. People making a rational decision at a price point that didn't exist before Tuesday.

Key point from your previous comment:

Whether Apple withholds technology until justified or introduces it when justified, the outcome is the same. A coherent ladder where no rung gets disrupted before the margin supports it.

There is only one driving force around whether "the margin supports it:" the extent to which purchasers are happy to give Apple that margin. Unless you want to pretend otherwise, the only reason Apple is able to continue to sell laptops at high margins with outdated technology and delay rolling out more modern offerings is because consumers continue to buy it. That is exactly what you and I said using different words.

We may disagree on why Apple's customers continue to happily buy Apple products despite those products using outdated technology, but the fact remains that it is those customers who drive those margins and ultimately Apple's design decisions.

 

[ProMotionPotato]

Key point from your previous comment:

There is only one driving force around whether "the margin supports it:" the extent to which purchasers are happy to give Apple that margin. Unless you want to pretend otherwise, the only reason Apple is able to continue to sell laptops at high margins with outdated technology and delay rolling out more modern offerings is because consumers continue to buy it. That is exactly what you and I said using different words.

We may disagree on why Apple's customers continue to happily buy Apple products despite those products using outdated technology, but the fact remains that it is those customers who drive those margins and ultimately Apple's design decisions.

That's a fair point about the mechanism. Consumer willingness to pay does support the margin. I won't argue with that. Where we disagree is on the word outdated. LCD in a $599 laptop in 2026 isn't outdated. It's appropriate. The Neo's display is better than most of what shipped at this price point last year regardless of panel technology. Outdated means no longer fit for purpose. The Neo's display is fit for purpose. It's just not the display in a machine that costs twice as much. Those are different things. And the first time Mac buyer converting from a $599 Windows laptop isn't accepting outdated technology. They're getting a meaningful upgrade. The margin argument is real. The outdated argument requires the display to be failing the user. And for most of the people buying this machine, it isn't.

 

[jakey rolling]

Where we disagree is on the word outdated. LCD in a $599 laptop in 2026 isn't outdated. It's appropriate. The Neo's display is better than most of what shipped at this price point last year regardless of panel technology.

This article is about the Macbook Air. Not the Neo.

 

[hans1972]

It's funny, and also just flat out infuriating.

There is zero good reason to not have these on MBAs, right now, at least as some kind of option.

Wouldn't it be less infuriating to switch to Windows and Android?
Both those ecosystems gets almost all new technologies earlier than Apple. Also usually everything is also cheaper and equally good.

In must be extra infuriating to be a customer of a company which infuriates you.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Wouldn't it be less infuriating to switch to Windows and Android?
Both those ecosystems gets almost all new technologies earlier than Apple. Also usually everything is also cheaper and equally good.

In must be extra infuriating to be a customer of a company which infuriates you.

I prefer macOS and iOS, the latter less so.

I'd grab an Android phone if there were something small and compelling.

I use my Mac Mini with 120hz/OLED anyhow, but I'd like to have a 120/OLED Macbook path for my eventual replacement of my 2015" 15" MBP.

Once you go perfect black, you don't go back

 

[ProMotionPotato]

This article is about the Macbook Air. Not the Neo.

Fair. The Air's display is harder to defend at $1,099 than the Neo's is at $599. I'd take ProMotion on the current panel before waiting for OLED. But the mechanism we've been discussing applies to the Air just as much. The Air gets OLED when Apple can absorb it at $1,099 without disrupting the rung. Whether that's deliberate sequencing or consumer tolerance enabling delay is exactly where we disagree. We've been going in circles on that for a while now. I don't think either of us is going to move the other.

 

[hans1972]

Can vouch ... the thing is incredible.

It even has 3 inputs ... that's 2 more than the XDR 🤣

From Amazon's description: "Exceptional Brightness: Brightness up to 500 nits ensures brilliant clarity and visibility, even in bright environments or outdoor use"

MacBook Neo's brightness: 500 nits.

It's good to know the MacBook Neo's screen has exceptional brightness with brilliant clarity.

 

[jakey rolling]

Wouldn't it be less infuriating to switch to Windows and Android?

In many cases, yes it would. And it is.

Both those ecosystems gets almost all new technologies earlier than Apple. Also usually everything is also cheaper and equally good.

As obtuse and wilfully ignorant as your comment sounds, what you say is true. However there may be factors other than display quality that lead people to choose the laptops and phones that they do. In my case, the one major reason I would have to buy an Apple laptop of any kind would be the incredible battery life. I have also heard that some people prefer Apple's touchpads and even their OS.

In must be extra infuriating to be a customer of a company which infuriates you.

Yes. It was already infuriating enough when it was third party hardware and software developers who treated Mac users as second-rate citizens. It is much more infuriating that Apple is now the one most guilty of this.

As turbineseaplane pointed out, it is clear that your comment was really meant as a back-handed "shut up about it" to the people complaining. As someone who used to be a huge Apple fanatic, I absolutely hear you about the complaining. But it is the complainers that push Apple to improve their products, not the loyalists. If it weren't for the complainers, you'd still be stuck with a terrible keyboard and a useless touch bar.

 

[hans1972]

because Apple and its products don't exist in a vacuum. There's competition and you can only lag so far behind on key technologies before it comes home to roost.

And yet, so many of you keeps on buying Apple computers instead of going full in on Windows/Android.
Why not go to the ecosystems where you get new technology first, almost always?

 

[hans1972]

I will never shell out a dime for the MacBook Air without 120hz. I will wait as long as needed.

In the meantime, probably gonna get the Neo and roll with in for couple of years.

Good thing is you will get exceptionally brightness and clarity from your MacBook Neo with 500 nits.

 

[deevey]

Agreed. I'd also argue that OLED would fit great on a MBA and for the users of such a machine.

It just flat out looks gorgeous and that type of user is quite likely to appreciate it, especially when consuming content on it.

It's completely outdated thinking to assume even general users don't love beautiful displays.

These "normal" users are accustomed to the gorgeous displays on iPhones and Apple Watches.

Even the iPhone 17e has an OLED

The "e" ... not just the main 17 and Pro models and Air.



View attachment 2612708

An iPhone or iPad display is unlikely to have screen elements in a fixed position for hours on end like a notebook.

Personally I value product longevity over newest tech, especially if that newer tech has known issues (like retention).

Sometimes retaining quality means using what is known to work, rather than what is supposed to be better (take the keyboard fiasco a few years ago).

 

[turbineseaplane]

An iPhone or iPad display is unlikely to have screen elements in a fixed position for hours on end like a notebook.

Personally I value product longevity over newest tech, especially if that newer tech has known issues (like retention).

Sometimes retaining quality means using what is known to work, that what is claimed to be better.

I'm over two years into my OLED TV as my Mac monitor.
I will let you know when I get burn in.

🤷‍♂️

If any ever comes, I'm pretty confident I won't care as I'll be moving onto something newer anyhow.

 

[hans1972]

It would be more accurate to say "Each rung gets the old technology until the moment comes when it cannot be justified at their price point."


Considering there are sub-$1000 laptops on the market today, OLED can fit within that price point right now. Easily.

From the website:

Display:16.0-inch, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10 aspect ratio, IPS-level Panel, Refresh Rate:60Hz refresh rate, 300nits, 45% NTSC color gamut)

You'll never see a screen like that in a MBA.

 

[deevey]

I'm over two years into my OLED TV as my Mac monitor.
I will let you know when I get burn in.

🤷‍♂️

If any ever comes, I'm pretty confident I won't care as I'll be moving onto something newer anyhow.

I have a BENQ OLED monitor and after 3 years - I have burn in (Which became quite visible after 2 years) Most days I can ignore it, but it's particularly horrible with light Grey's, I can see UI elements that I use frequently. It's not pretty.