MacBook Pro 16 Photo: Alex Cranz / Gizmodo
Apple could soon turn to OLED. If you’ve been following the trends of recent laptops, then you already know that OLED is the next big thing in display technology. Yes, it has been around for a few years, but 2022 seems to be the year that computer manufacturers are finally looking to adopt it on a large scale. Hell, the Lenovo Yoga 9i, and the HP Specter x360 16 I reviewed recently had impressive OLED panels, and Asus is equipping almost every laptop, including the cheaper VivoBook line, with OLED.
Apple, however, is behind the curve. The company’s new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13 are based on standard IPS panels. Upgrading to MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 gives you a miniLED display, a step in the direction of OLED. It seems that Apple has realized that to compete, it will have to take the plunge.
Technology giant Cupertino will start shipping MacBooks with OLED displays as early as 2024, according to a report by Ross Young. Young is a trusted industry analyst and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (via MacRumors). In a tweet shared with Super Followers, Young said the next MacBook OLED will likely be a MacBook Air, but it could also be a MacBook, MacBook Pro or a new series. Apple is also expected to bring OLED to the new 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models in 2024.
“Apple is increasingly likely to launch an OLED 13.3 laptop in 2024 in addition to 11[-inch] OLED and 12.9[-inch] iPad Pros, “Young posted on Twitter.” It’s expected to be a MacBook Air, but it could become a MacBook, MacBook Pro or a new category. ”
The three OLED products, a laptop and two tablets, are supposed to use a “tandem battery” structure, in which two layers of red, green and blue emission increase brightness, improve longevity and reduce power consumption. (by 30%). These OLED screens are likely to support LTPO technology for a variable refresh rate, or ProMotion, which will allow them to switch between 1 Hz and 120 Hz depending on the content of the screen. Apple’s high-end products have ProMotion, but only drop to 24 Hz.
This would not be the first time Apple has switched to OLED. The iPhone X launched in 2017 was the first with OLED and now the entire phone line uses display technology. For now, miniLED is the premier display technology for MacBooks. While it offers exceptional brightness (especially when playing HDR content) and excellent reliability, the miniLED cannot compete with OLED in terms of contrast, black levels, and energy efficiency.
There are reasons why OLED has not taken off in the laptop industry so far. The main concern is the burn, or when a still image remains permanently on the screen. It was a serious problem in the early days of OLED, but newer panels seem to do a better job of preventing this harmful behavior. Some laptop makers, such as Asus, add their own tricks (like enabling a dynamic background after a period of inactivity) to keep the burn at bay, while others rely on their vendors. We’ll be curious to know what guarantees Apple will give customers, given that calls from its support page are “expected.” LG, the leading supplier of OLED TVs, does not consider the burn to be a product defect and does not cover it with warranty, CNET reports.
Finally, Apple could turn to a near-screen technology called micro-LED, which is expected to replace OLED and mini-OLED by taking the best elements of both. Made up of microscopic LEDs and inorganic material, micro-LED panels promise brighter images and better color quality than OLEDs without the risk of burning. Apple, meanwhile, bought micro-LED producer LuxVue in 2014 and is said to be using screen technology for its long-rumored mixed-reality headset.
Micro-LED panels will not be affordable for some time, so Apple could opt for OLED to act as a temporary bridge between LED and micro-LED if the latter report turns out to be accurate.