Apple’s MacBook Pro could finally get the OLED treatment in the next few years

30 May 2024, 01:18 published

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We’ve been waiting for OLED MacBooks for quite a while now, especially since the launch of Apple’s M4 iPad Pro models boasting new high-end displays. Naturally, you would think the MacBook Pro range would follow suit, and we previously held out hope for that when the M3 MacBooks launched late last year. However, it now seems like we might finally see OLED MacBook Pros in 2026, which may tempt more users towards these high-end laptops.

As Wccftech reports, according to analyst firm Omdia, OLED technology will seemingly debut on MacBook Pro models in 2026, making the laptops thinner, since OLED screens have their own individually lit pixels and don’t require a backlit panel.

We’re told these MacBooks will use the same Tandem OLED displays as the iPad Pros, with ‘tandem’ referring to them having two OLED panels layered on top of each other (for better brightness and color clarity).

Why not sooner rather than later?

Omdia’s Senior Principal Analyst of Display Research, Ricky Part, posted his predictions for the future of Apple displays in a blog post, stating that: “Apple is highly likely to incorporate OLED into its MacBook Pro models as early as 2026. This move could spark a significant surge in OLED demand within the notebook market, potentially reaching over 60 million units by 2031.”

As you can see, Part suspects the move to OLED screens will boost the Apple MacBook Pro’s desirability, and I am inclined to agree. Who normally uses MacBook Pros? Artists, videographers, filmmakers, animators, editors, and many other creative or visually demanding use cases would greatly benefit from a sharper, better, more vibrant OLED display.

If that’s the case, then why would Apple be so slow to jump on the OLED train? Well, possibly because the panels are expensive to manufacture, and the company will need to rely on a much higher level of demand for MacBook Pros to justify beginning the process. There’s also the matter of securing production facilities for the screens, too.

As we said before, Apple has only just brought its M4 chips to iPad Pro models, so it would make sense to wait for a future new chipset, or other major upgrades and features, to add into the mix alongside the introduction of an OLED screen to make a new MacBook Pro worth it. Higher production costs trickle down to the consumer, so we expect an OLED MacBook Pro to be one of the most expensive laptops on the market – meaning it’ll really have to seem worth the outlay.