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Dynamic island on a laptop, again, NO THANK YOU. I guess Ill be waiting another 4-5 years to buy a new macbook pro, but that’s one less thing to spend money on, so thanks for making it an easy decision for me Apple! 😄
 
Can someone explain to me how Apple can avoid OLED burn in?
Mostly a non-issue for the past decade.
There's always AppleCare, which should be part of every laptop purchase.
Apple will already be using tandem OLED to increase the life and maintain brightness as the device ages.
What they need to ensure they do is manage the heat to prolong the life. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the marketing about a vapor chamber or heatpipe of some sort in the screen. It might not be new tech, but Apple will plug it as revolutionary.
They will probably have a forced pixel refresh once in a while to stop multiple hours of static content. Most OLED monitors and TVs already do this.
 
that makes sense this would be spring 2027 why would they want to take the Christmas shopping energy away from their new more expensive MacBook Pro M5 units with an even higher price point?
 
Somehow true but somehow I couldn’t care less as I don’t work in graphic design and the point of “good enough” has been reached a long time ago.
Would there be a lower cost lcd option in would chose that.
I work in design and there's still no reason for me to get a 120 Hz OLED. I'm on a 2022 Studio Display and it's more than enough just with 5K, P3 color and print profiles. Nothing I work on exceeds 60 Hz and I don't need "black hole" OLED blacks as they don't exist in print. I feel like most of the sentiment that "60 Hz IPS panels shouldn't exist in 2026" is coming from gamers or people who don't need color accurate monitors. I don't see any of the people who actually do need those monitors complaining; they just buy a Studio Display or equivalent and never think about it again.
 
I work in design and there's still no reason for me to get a 120 Hz OLED. I'm on a 2022 Studio Display and it's more than enough just with 5K, P3 color and print profiles. Nothing I work on exceeds 60 Hz and I don't need "black hole" OLED blacks as they don't exist in print. I feel like most of the sentiment that "60 Hz IPS panels shouldn't exist in 2026" is coming from gamers or people who don't need color accurate monitors. I don't see any of the people who actually do need those monitors complaining; they just buy a Studio Display or equivalent and never think about it again.

You can have it all in one with a 120hz OLED.

I wouldn't say other tech/monitors shouldn't exist, but it's pretty frustrating how Apple hasn't embraced upgrade optionality on the displays for those that prefer other tech and are willing to pay for it.
 
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I've never used OLED on anything other than my phones, and previously my apple watch. Is it really that big of a deal?

I do wonder about burn-in, which some people (like me), will often keep a laptop for a decade.
I honestly don't even think about it on my phone, and don't miss it on a laptop. It's one of those things I'd think "oh cool it's OLED, looks great", then forget about it completely.
 
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I honestly don't even think about it on my phone, and don't miss it on a laptop. It's one of those things I'd think "oh cool it's OLED, looks great", then forget about it completely.

I wish I could put you next to me right now ... I have an M2 15" MBA next to me and it looks literally washed out and nearly "cloudy" in comparison to the 16" OLED to its right.
 
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You can have it all in one with a 120hz OLED.

I wouldn't say other tech/monitors shouldn't exist, but it's pretty frustrating how Apple hasn't embraced upgrade optionality on the displays for those that prefer other tech and are willing to pay for it.
I agree with it in principle, but I'm not going to spend another thousand or couple thousand on a 120 Hz OLED version of a monitor that already does everything I need and still has headroom. Apple caught a lot of criticism for not upgrading the regular Studio Display further than another TB port and a better camera, but the reality is that people who actually own one weren't asking for massive upgrades. It's already the best Mac monitor you can buy at that price, so there's no reason for them to change it.
 
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If these OLED MacBooks come with the m6 pro and m6 max by the end of the year we could see the m6 chip literally in just a few months or so witch is crazy to think about
 
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For me, I simply use the built in screen in the interim until I can get back to my desk and dock it to a full sized monitor. The touch screen on the ultra is rumoured to have limited touch capabilities anyway, so that really doesn't help there. Even if it did have full touch capability like iPad it would be an awkward form factor unless the screen detached or the keyboard rotated 270 degrees behind the screen. This is why Apple was reluctant to do a touchscreen Mac in the first place.

Unless the "MacBook Ultra" bridges the gap between tablet and laptop it has no use for me personally. Really, the biggest potential upgrade isn't hardware, it's software. They need to make the iPad run MacOS apps so we can run non-crippled versions of software. The iPad is the best and most natural form factor for human beings. An iPad can be a touch/ pencil device, AND act as a laptop, not the other way around.

From a UI perspective, saying it can't be done is short sighted and shows lack of vision. As a UI designer I can tell you it can be done. The technology already exists in web design via responsive and fluid methods. Something similar can be implemented if they're creative enough. The OS should detect the size of the screen and adjust the UI as needed. Furthermore the OS should be able to detect if there is a mouse/ pencil connected and adjust the UI controls as needed. More simply, you can have the user switch between the UI manually.


50926-100569-macOS-on-iPad-xl.jpg
 
I wish I could put you next to me right now ... I have an M2 15" MBA next to me and it looks literally washed out and nearly "cloudy" in comparison to the 16" OLED to its right.
Oh yeah I've used one, it's just not necessary for what I do and I'm not bothered that the Studio Display doesn't have it! They look great.
 
I, too, have checked my supply chain sources, and I believe Apple is working on an M6 processor class and it will be released in 2026 or 2027.

I can also say that an M7 will come after that.
 
This is a TV test, but they found OLED's were the least problematic display tech:


Burn-in has not been a concern on iPhones, so not sure why it would be for MacBooks.

Here a couple tests that show how little burn in happens:


Yep! Same on my C3 for even longer. 🙌 🙏
I have 10 OLED devices from TVs to mobile devices, gaming monitors, no burn issues, but its just a back of the mind thing. My Oldest OLED is a C1 LG with 6000 hours+ on it, no burn in. But unlike my gaming monitor and computers, my TVs don't sit for 8 hours a day on static menus. And pixel shift is annoying on a desktop use case. Not to mention even the LG C5 doesn't get bright enough in 100% window SDR, I have a 42C3 in one of the guest rooms and tried it as a monitor, the ABL, the pixel shift, the low full screen brightness I don't know how anyone uses those for monitors. Not saying Samsungs 34" QD-OLED panels get much brighter, but they def at least dont have the ABL issues.
 
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please differentiate the Ultra and the Pro. specifically when it comes to touchscreen capabilities. please. Pro with OLED is very much looking to be my next upgrade after loving an M2 since…I think since launch day? and an OLED display is all I want. granted, it's not like I'm required to use a touchscreen just because it's there, I can just see an easy upcharge for that because of the newness/"innovation" factor. along with that, I really hope a touchscreen isn't further indication of the iOS-ification of macOS; Liquid Glass is serviceable on iOS (I happen to have transparent Home Screen icons at this point), but it just does not work for a desktop OS. with any luck, Apple takes some of the insane money they're about to make from Neo sales and puts it towards bonus checks for UI/UX designers working overtime to bring macOS back to its golden Aqua age, right around Leopard/Snow Leopard. (edit: no, I'm not literally asking them to go back to Aqua, I realize they wouldn't go backwards like that. I just want them to realize that Liquid Glass on Mac didn't pan out the way they hoped it would.)
 


Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said the MacBook Pro will receive a "major upgrade" with an OLED display by early next year.

Apple-MacBook-Pro-M4-hero.jpg

In a blog post, Kuo said the new MacBook Pro will be released between late 2026 and early 2027.

With an OLED display, the MacBook Pro would have better image quality compared to the current models with LCD displays and mini-LED backlighting. Advantages of OLED displays include more vivid colors, higher contrast ratio, and wider viewing angles, and they can be more power efficient depending on the content being displayed.

The next-generation MacBook Pro is expected to feature many other upgrades, including a thinner design, a touch screen, a Dynamic Island, and M6 Pro and M6 Max chips manufactured with TSMC's 2nm process. It has been rumored that Apple might even expand its C1X or C2 modem to the MacBook Pro for built-in cellular connectivity.

With all of these new features, higher prices are likely. For this reason, it was recently reported that the model with an OLED display might be a so-called "MacBook Ultra" that is positioned above the MacBook Pro in the lineup.

Kuo expects the MacBook Air to receive an OLED display as well, but not until 2028 or 2029.

Apple just released MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, but if you are interested in bigger upgrades, it might be best to wait. The last MacBook Pro redesign occurred in 2021, so these moments do not come along too often.

Article Link: MacBook Pro to Receive 'Major Upgrade' by Early Next Year


Well I pre-ordered a fully loaded Macbook Pro M5 Max - 128GB Ram and 8TB SSD.

I guess I'll be buying another fully loaded machine when the new one's are released!

I used to upgrade Macbook Pro every time they released a new machine, but honestly I am still rocking my M1 Macbook Pro from 2018 and it's fine to this day! (Apple M1 Max - loaded).

I got the updated machine in hopes of trying out some "local AI". Other than AI, my old machine has been just fine.

Pixinsight is a program I use for Astrophotography - I supposed it will show a big boost in performance there. Maybe I'd like to get a set of monitors - but I'm not so sure that I need the latest ones - I probably do not need accurate broadcast color. But life can be short as a rabbits tail. Bring on the technology!
 
please differentiate the Ultra and the Pro. specifically when it comes to touchscreen capabilities. please. Pro with OLED is very much looking to be my next upgrade after loving an M2 since…I think since launch day? and an OLED display is all I want. granted, it's not like I'm required to use a touchscreen just because it's there, I can just see an easy upcharge for that because of the newness/"innovation" factor. along with that, I really hope a touchscreen isn't further indication of the iOS-ification of macOS; Liquid Glass is serviceable on iOS (I happen to have transparent Home Screen icons at this point), but it just does not work for a desktop OS. with any luck, Apple takes some of the insane money they're about to make from Neo sales and puts it towards bonus checks for UI/UX designers working overtime to bring macOS back to its golden Aqua age, right around Leopard/Snow Leopard.


Ultra is like having 2 Max wafers welded together with fast communication between them

Pro is a step down from a Max. This is how I (barely) understand it.
 
Slightly long post, but I think people should really wait for this new one, rather than buying a M5 Max MPB today. Notebookcheck says:

"Our initial tests for the new M5 Pro and M5 Max CPUs are mixed."

To me, the big news is the M6 Max chip will be manufactured with TSMC's 2nm process. The new gen iPhone 18 technology will make it to the Macs without a wait! Probably a big upgrade, as the new iPhone is supposed to be 15% faster and have more memory bandwidth.

Note the M5 Max is barely faster than the M4 Max when it comes to CPU.

We also know the current MBP chassis is inadequate for the M5 Max chip. This means significant throttling, leaving unused performance on the table.

"During [Notebookcheck] tests, we saw a maximum consumption of 75 Watts for the CPU, but neither the MacBook Pro 14, nor the MacBook Pro 16 were able to maintain this value. The smaller 14-inch model had issues to maintain 50 Watts, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro maintained 62 Watts in High Powermode."

Screenshot 2026-03-11 at 9.59.31 AM.png


A thinner chassis is always a welcome bonus, maybe lighter, but the big change is that the new chassis design is likely designed with higher power chips in mind. After all, the old chassis has been in use since M1 days. So it probably has much better cooling, vital for Max chips.

Next, a well-configured 14" M5 Max MBP *already* costs $5,700. 18 CPU cores, 128GB RAM and the 40 GPU cores. Plus 4TB SSD. The reason to go for a M5 Max is always compute power, actually, portable compute power.
Screenshot 2026-03-11 at 9.42.22 AM.png


A M6 Max almost certainly will be significantly faster, core redesign perhaps, maybe more than 18 CPU cores + die shrink, also maybe thermally better, with the new chassis better tuned to something > 50W. So, the jump in performance between M5 Max and M6 Max will be bigger than the tiny jump to M5 Max from M4 Max.

OLED touch not a big deal to those who crave and can easily soak up extra portable compute power, people like myself. Last night, I was thinking my compute-heavy code (which I naturally write in single-threaded and multi-threaded variants) could easily use extra multithreading speed from those CPU cores, hopefully, a few more than the 18 cores in M5 Max.

Suppose, the OLED touch itself adds $600 to the cost. Suppose then a well-configured new chassis 14" M6 Max MBP goes for $6,300. Hell, make it $6,500. If you (or your sponsor) can afford $5,700, a stretch to $6,500 is fine.

P.S. as for the M5 Max Studio coming soon, maybe the thermals will be fine in the Studio chassis, can dissipate easily 75W, so the M5 Max Studio could be significantly faster than the M5 Max MBP. If there is a M5 Ultra Studio, the M6 Max is unlikely to beat it, due to the sheer number of cores.
 
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