OLED MacBook Pro Could Launch as Soon as 2026

[Lynxpoint]

Apparently Apple users DO care about specs like OLED since Apple went through all the trouble of putting one in the latest iPad Pro and they're selling like hotcakes (9M did I read?)

If you don't need or want or can't have an OLED then Apple has an iPad Air for you. MacBook should have options for OLED and options without. I can configure a Dell or an HP or a Lenovo with or without an OLED depending on whether I prioritize battery life or display quality. Can you even imaging Apple giving the customer a choice like that? I can't.

That is because many companies offer as many options as possible to maximize their sales, while Apple curates their offerings (less well than in previous years) to remove all the troublesome work of sorting through a matrix of options. In Apple-land, the idea is 'we did all the hard work of deciding what you need' (and I guess you could argue part of the price is paying for that curatorial work).

Not that I am for or against either approach, it just seems that curation is very much of what makes Apple what it is.

 

[Tagbert]

Apparently Apple users DO care about specs like OLED since Apple went through all the trouble of putting one in the latest iPad Pro and they're selling like hotcakes (9M did I read?)

If you don't need or want or can't have an OLED then Apple has an iPad Air for you. MacBook should have options for OLED and options without. I can configure a Dell or an HP or a Lenovo with or without an OLED depending on whether I prioritize battery life or display quality. Can you even imaging Apple giving the customer a choice like that? I can't.

I would say that I would value OLED on an iPad much more than I would on a MacBook. On an iPad I would be using it to watch videos where the dynamic range matters. on a MacBook, OLED would offer little benefit over miniLED or even a good LCD as I am mainly looking at text, controls, small graphics. An OLEd would offer little added benefit.

 

[Tagbert]

My ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED already has an OLED, and if a sub £1k asus laptop can have it, I can't see why macbooks can't. Oh wait Apple.

Is that OLED a tandem OLED with dual layers to give better brightness and resist burn-in and fade? Not all OLEDs are created equal.

 

[Tagbert]

I appreciate this post but the current variation of this exact rumor revolves around the rumored iPhone SLIM, rumored to be a slimmer iPhone. The crowd with this want tends to spin "thin enough NOW, how about more battery instead?" I do NOT see many people saying: "make it thicker and add more battery." The want is usually "slim enough now, how about more battery instead of even slimmer."

When Apple can slim iPhone, I always expect "same great battery life" because they don't have to spend money on more battery for that. To actually opt to leave it the same thinness but fill-freed up space with more battery would cost them a few nickels in added battery. So the choice is an easy one for them: "same great battery life" but not necessarily what the buyer wants.

Buyer may buy anyway for "the rest" of the benefits but it's quite easy to grasp how MANY consumers would like longer battery life over an even thinner phone.

I wonder if they expect to have a source of solid state batteries by the time the "slim" phone is ready? That might allow them to get the same battery life in a thinner package and warrant an "ultra" designation.

I'm usually fine with current battery life and use the 80% limit on most days. It rare that I need to top up during the day at my desk unless I'm playing a lot of podcasts. I would not want a heavier phone just to have more battery life. Still, I can't see them brining out a top range phone without somehow matching the current model's battery life.

 

[robvalentine]

Is that OLED a tandem OLED with dual layers to give better brightness and resist burn-in and fade? Not all OLEDs are created equal.

No clue, but it looks a lot better than my MacBook pro 13 inch M1 screen does, and the brightness slider is lower. It also has software to help prevent burn in.

 

[Juggernaut510]

The apple way? Always holding a carrot stick in front of you with tech that has been out with competitors for many years. Shady! Business tactics.

 

[120FPS]

My wallet isn't ready for the price increases. This thing is going to be so expensive considering the massive price bumps in the iPad line.

 

[fabric17]

As soon as...

 

[joecomo]

Macs arent super locked down…

yes - except for kext, but that is not necessarily a bad thing

 

[joecomo]

it is funny, that I own a highly capable device with an M4 chip, an OLED screen, 5G connectivity, touch + Apple pen - so why wait for these MacBooks.
Could anyone please put a decent OS on this machine ...

I forgot: with also a decent keyboard featuring a function key row and a trackpad ready for business

 

[Makisupa Policeman]

Finally…but this should have happened when the original M1 Pros were released in 2021. Apple is not on the cutting edge anymore and hasn’t been for a while.

 

[fuchsdh]

The question is why they are so late in the use of OLED technology.

If you judge by all the stories you read here and elsewhere about Apple's display technology, it seems like they were pushing for microLED, which has become something like cold fusion in that it's always just a few years away. Guess they decided it didn't make sense to stand still on their display tech while they wait for that tech to become feasible.

 

[gri]

"as soon as" doing some heavy lifting here...

 

[usmaak]

You want a good screen? - Just get an iPad Pro 🙃

I would love to be able to use the M4 iPad Pro but unfortunately my eyes don’t like it. Lots of eye strain while using it and I had to return it. 😢

 

[dgdosen]

Is this misinformation coming from Apple? Maybe they introduce an OLED laptop at WWDC...

 

[lilkwarrior]

How about different level OLED displays for different users? I know it sounds crazy that Apple actually gives the buyer a choice, but like literally all other laptop makers who do, Apple could offer different screens for different model lines. MBA could get a normal OLED screen you might find on a sub $1000 Windows PC. Lower-end MBP could get OLED with 120 or 144 (or higher) refresh rates. MBP with m-Max or m-Ultra chips could get the high end Apple OLED display as an option.

Instead, like the "soup Nazi" on Seinfeld, it's NO OLED FOR YOU, period. I just think Apple could think differently.

That’s a fair/valid wish of choice Apple and other laptop manufacturers provided more often.

It’s not trivial and there’s ultimately software/manufacturing/profit-margin costs providing lower end options being supported more than a higher-end option consistently.

 

[lilkwarrior]

Try 1000+ nits brightness. No one will want it all day. Second, the screen panel gets HOT at those brightness levels meaning it's sucking the life from your battery.

The iPad Pro only gets 1600 nits when viewing HDR content and even then, not the whole screen. It can't maintain that brightness for any long period. 500 nits of constant brightness is plenty.

…The Pro Display XDR, Asus ProArt PA32UCG, and other prosumer monitors have 1000 SUSTAINED nits in addition to 1600+ peak nits for a reason (Heck the Vision Pro has 5000 peak nits).

I own all three and very much leverage such HDR capabilities.

Fellow creative professionals and a wide variety of other prosumers certainly can and have wanted 1000 sustained nits which is ideal for HDR-optimized content production workflows.

General computing benefits as well—especially in a wide variety of computing environments you may not have control over the baseline lighting settings day-to-day.

The option is certainly appreciated for Apple to be adamant with it throughout their prosumer hardware line-up for quite some time now by Apple and other panel manufacturers accommodating prosumers.

 

[LaterWolf]

Finally…but this should have happened when the original M1 Pros were released in 2021. Apple is not on the cutting edge anymore and

The m1 pros are already aging too well. This makes it worse

 

[shadowfrost]

To be honest, I rather have a mini led/micro led for a macbook, considering burn in risk for OLED screen. I work a lot more in front of my laptop, so it is more concerning than say, an Ipad or a smartphone.

 

[Tagbert]

To be honest, I rather have a mini led/micro led for a macbook, considering burn in risk for OLED screen. I work a lot more in front of my laptop, so it is more concerning than say, an Ipad or a smartphone.

Read more about the tandem OLEDs used in the new iPad Pros. The dual layers should reduce the risk of burn-in. The downside is that they are more expensive than single layer OLED panels.

 

[The Game 161]

That’s when I likely upgrade from my M3 MacBook Pro

 

[turbineseaplane]

14": starting from $ 2999
16": starting from $ 3999

Customers starting from: "not many"

 

[LaterWolf]

Customers starting from: "not many"

The worst part is that it won't be the most egregiously priced item in apples lineup (at least for the 14). Not even second

 

[groove-agent]

I’ll upgrade when they add Face ID and oled to the MacBook pros

It's funny, I prefer touch ID on my iPad and iPhone, but FaceID on my Mac but right now for me, my devices are opposite.

 

[groove-agent]

I think they are less of perfectionists and more of "late stage capitalists"

It's about money -- nothing else

I'm not quite that cynical. Of course it's about money. That's a given. They're a corporation on the stock exchange.

I think Apple is about money first that tries to be an ethical company second. This is more than I can say about a lot of other companies.