An authority on display technology said Wednesday that Apple will be unable to introduce a MacBook with an OLED screen for at least three years.
But iPads with OLED are expected much sooner.
Everything is going OLED … eventually
With OLED (short for organic light-emitting diode) displays, each pixel glows on its own. The result is a bright, even image with strong contrast. This type of screen looks so good, it’s already used for iPhone and Apple Watch. But large OLED panels are expensive, which is why MacBook and iPad don’t use them.
And the companies that make Apple’s displays won’t be able to mass produce OLED panels cheaply enough to be practical in a notebook computer until 2026 at the earliest, and it could be 2027. That’s the prediction of Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, speaking at a Bloomberg-sponsored webinar.
He’s someone to be trusted. Young’s sources are reliable enough that he’s built a strong reputation for accurately predicting Apple’s future moves. He predicted the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus would have the Dynamic Island an entire year before these handsets debuted, for example.
In the mean time, Apple will surely continue to use mini-LED displays in its MacBooks. This type of screen puts use thousands of tiny LEDs behind the LCD to provide a backlight that can be illuminated in very specific areas.
No OLED MacBook but yes for iPad
Both sizes of the next iPad Pro models will boast an OLED display, according to multiple sources, including Young.
A new prediction emerging Wednesday from Asia claims that iPad Air and iPad mini will also get OLED displays. However, these aren’t likely to reach the market before 2026.
