For a while, rumor mills have claimed that Apple will transition its laptops from LCD to OLED displays by 2024. Corroborating those reports, tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that Apple’s supplier Samsung Display has increased the shipments of OLED panels for laptops and the tech giant is going to launch an OLED MacBook by the end of 2024.
Currently, 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (based model) feature LCD displays, and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models feature LCD with mini-LED displays with 120Hz refresh rate and ProMotion tech. The tech company uses OLED screens on Apple Watch and iPhones.
Thinner and lighter OLED MacBooks coming in late 2024
Although mini-LED panels with backlighting feature smaller diodes less than 0.2mm in size to deliver brightness up to 4000 nits and enable HDR through local dimming, OLED displays have self-emitting pixels which do not require backlighting. Therefore, OLED MacBooks will offer enhanced contrast ratio and power efficiency.
In his latest series of Tweets, Kuo mentioned that the new display tech will make OLED MacBook thinner and lighter. However, he did not specify which MacBook models, Air or Pro, will be upgraded.
Previously, display analyst Ross Young claimed that Apple would launch a 13.3-inch OLED MacBook Air in 2024, along with 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with OLED displays. He also detailed that new OLED panels will be built on two-stack tandem with LTPO for a variable refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz which will make tasks more fluid and preserve battery life.
Recently, The Elec reported that Apple’s biggest display supplier, Samsung Display has prioritized the development of two-stack OLED panels expected to be used in future iPads and Macs over Gen 8 IT OLED panels.
Kuo reiterated that the new OLED MacBook models are expected to launch in 2024 at the earliest and it is predicted that OLED tech’s adoption would drive the growth of OLED laptop shipments in the coming years.
Compared to mini-LED, laptops that use OLEDs have the advantage of being thinner and lighter and offering more diverse form factor design options, like folding, so it has caused Apple to plan to ship the OLED MacBook by the end of 2024 at the earliest.
It’s expected that with Apple’s adoption, the growth of OLED laptop shipments will continue to surge in the coming years.
Latest reports show the tech giant’s focus on upgrading display tech and using in-house design in its upcoming devices. Bloomberg claims that the 2024 Apple Watch Ultra will be shipped with the tech company’s custom microLED display and 2025 iPhones will feature in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips to end reliance on its suppliers.
