Skip to main content

Hoping for an OLED MacBook Pro? We’ve got some bad news

If you’ve been waiting for Apple to launch an OLED MacBook Pro, there’s some bad news: it might not come out for another three years. That’s a serious wait considering many of Apple’s rivals have already brought out some of the best OLED laptops on the market.

The news comes from display industry tipster Ross Young, who is well-known for having a solid track record when it comes to Apple leaks. Young tweeted a link to a Reuters article outlining Samsung’s plans for an OLED fabrication plant, adding the comment: “This fab is for 14” and 16” OLED MacBook Pros from 2026.”

Recommended Videos

This fab is for 14” and 16” OLED MacBook Pro’s from 2026. Some technical risk though, with new backplane approach and frontplane approach to lower costs and improve performance.https://t.co/TO9z3XqFMw

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) April 4, 2023

If true, it’s a touch disappointing, since laptops bequeathed with OLED panels are not an unusual sight these days. To some, it might feel as if Apple is lagging behind the competition.

That said, Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops still have some of the best displays in the business, even without OLED technology. That’s because they’re outfitted with mini-LED panels (which Apple calls Liquid Retina XDR).

In fact, in our 16-inch MacBook Pro review, we stated that “There’s just no other laptop that has the entire package of brightness, color, and HDR performance,” adding that “Apple’s still way ahead of the game.” So it’s not like MacBook fans are having to scrape by with bargain-bin screens while they wait for the OLED update.

Still, if Apple can take mini-LED screen technology and make it so good it outperforms even the best OLED laptops, the chances are its first OLED MacBook Pro could blow rival offerings out of the water. That might explain the seemingly late 2026 date — Apple likes to wait until it can be the best rather than rushing in with something mediocre.

The MacBook Air could come first

The screen of the MacBook Air M2.
M2 MacBook Air Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

There’s an unusual quirk about the 2026 date, though: it could mean Apple launches a consumer-focused MacBook Air with an OLED panel before the flagship MacBook Pro. That’s because several rumors — including one from Ross Young — have said the MacBook Air could get an OLED display as soon as 2024.

Interestingly, that might be limited to the 13-inch model and not the rumored 15-inch MacBook Air, which could launch at some point this year. According to Young, the cost of manufacturing 15-inch MacBook Air might make it too expensive for its consumer audience, which could then leave us with the odd situation of the smaller MacBook Air being granted an OLED screen, but not the larger one.

Regardless, it seems we’ll have a while to wait for Apple’s MacBook Pro line to launch with OLED displays. That’s frustrating, but at least we’ve got the superb Liquid Retina XDR to tide us over while we wait.

Alex Blake
Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…
Apple silicon has made the MacBook Pro a consumer favorite
Someone using a MacBook Pro at a desk.

Apple’s computer lineup has greatly benefitted from its update to the M4 chip in 2024. The brand introduced the M4 MacBook Pro and iMac lines in the last year– and research has further indicated that Apple’s decision to shift from Intel processors to proprietary silicon was a solid move. It has made consumers favor Apple laptops more. 

According to statistics from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), MacBook form factors, in either MacBook Pro or MacBook Air made up 86% of Apple’s PC market share in 2024. Consumers especially favored the M4 MacBook Pro at a rate of 53%, while 33% of MacBook Air models shipped during the year, and 14% of iMac models. These figures vary only slightly from the year prior; however, CIRP noted that Apple appears to have weathered any fluctuations that may have occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read more
Here’s how Apple’s first foldable MacBook might win me over
The Zenbook Fold 17 open on a table.

Rumors have persisted for years now that Apple is working on a touchscreen MacBook, but I’ve never been truly convinced. For one thing, I don’t see how a touchscreen could improve my MacBook experience enough to justify the inevitable price rise. This is Apple we’re talking about, after all, and there’s just no way that a touchscreen MacBook will possibly come cheap.

As well as that, I’ve long agreed with Steve Jobs’ belief that adding a touchscreen to a regular MacBook is an ergonomic nightmare. Constantly reaching up to the display is a quick way to exhaust your arms, and paining its users isn’t really part of Apple’s playbook. The Mac operating system isn’t designed for touch either, and in any case, adding a touchscreen would result in all manner of greasy fingerprints on your monitor. It’s never seemed like a good idea to me.

Read more
The M4 MacBook Air is displaying some odd behavior we don’t understand yet
Apple MacBook Air 15 M4 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

People are getting their hands on the new M4 MacBook Air this week, which means they're posting lots of discoveries about its performance (and the blueness of the new Sky Blue color). While editing photos in Lightroom Classic, YouTuber Vadim Yuryev noticed that the CPU workload was being handled almost completely by the laptop's six efficiency cores.

https://x.com/VadimYuryev/status/1899986842998784243

Read more