Skip to main content

Future Macs will borrow this awesome tech from the iPad Pro

Apple’s Spring Loaded event revealed a new iPad Pro with a mini-LED screen that Apple has dubbed the “Liquid Retina XDR” display. Packed with more than 10,000 LEDs, it could be a massive improvement over the previous iPad Pro. But it looks like Apple is not stopping there — according to industry analyst TrendForce, Apple is going to bring the same tech to the MacBook later this year.

Specifically, TrendForce believes both the 14-inch MacBook Pro and its 16-inch sibling will be outfitted with this tech. That backs up earlier reports from DigiTimes and reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who have both claimed Apple has mini-LED MacBooks in its pipeline.

In light of Apple’s recent iPad Pro launch, it now seems likely that Apple will use the same Liquid Retina XDR name for the panels in its upcoming MacBooks. In the iPad Pro, this tech offers 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness, 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

In comparison, the M1 MacBook Pro — which offers the best display in any MacBook and one of the brightest screens of all laptops — can “only” hit 485 nits of full-screen brightness and a contrast ratio of 1,470:1. While that is currently industry-leading, it might soon be blown away by what Apple can offer when it adopts mini-LED screens in its next MacBooks.

There is no guarantee a Liquid Retina XDR display in a MacBook would hit those iPad Pro levels, as a portable tablet and a laptop are used very differently and held at different distances from your face. But it does show what a huge difference the mini-LED tech can make — and might give some hints as to what we can roughly expect when Apple brings it to future MacBooks.

Macbook Electric Color
Dmitry Chernyshov/Unsplash

If the rumors prove true, a Liquid Retina XDR display could be just one of the interesting new features coming to the MacBook Pro in 2021. The 14-inch MacBook Pro is expected to be a wide-ranging overhaul of the current 13-inch design, with thinner bezels allowing for a larger display, more port variety (including the return of MagSafe), a squared-off design like the new iMac, and much more. It might even ditch the Touch Bar.

Editors' Recommendations

Alex Blake
In ancient times, people like Alex would have been shunned for their nerdy ways and strange opinions on cheese. Today, he…
The next MacBook Air could come with a major disappointment
A MacBook Air on a desk with an open book in front of it.

It’s something of an open secret that Apple is working on a couple of fresh MacBook Air models, including an all-new 15-inch MacBook Air. Many details about these devices have been shrouded in mystery, but a prominent analyst has just shed some much-needed light on them -- and it’s not all good news.

Posting on Twitter, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo updated his previous predictions for Apple’s lightweight laptop. In the new post, Kuo outlined a slate of ideas for what could be coming next.

Read more
Here’s why WWDC could be a ‘critical event’ for Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook looks at a display of brand new redesigned MacBook Air laptop during the WWDC22

Apple is planning a packed line-up for its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5, which could become “one of the most critical events in the company’s history.” Aside from the company’s upcoming Reality Pro headset, there will be major updates to Apple’s software systems, including the biggest watchOS revamp since the Apple Watch launched in 2015.

That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who has a history of accurate predictions and leaks surrounding Apple products. It suggests that WWDC will be a chance for Apple to set out its future ambitions for a “post-iPhone era.”

Read more
This little-known feature is my favorite part of using a Mac and iPhone together
Person using iPhone and MacBook.

Apple’s ecosystem attracts plenty of praise for how all the company’s devices work seamlessly together -- and rightly so. But among all the admiring glances cast toward AirDrop, Continuity Camera and Sidecar, there’s another feature that feels a little unloved -- yet it’s a superb perk of using multiple Apple devices together.

That feature is Universal Clipboard, a handy little timesaver that shuns the spotlight and simply works diligently in the background. Yet that simple nature -- it just works, as the saying goes -- is part of what makes it so great to use.

Read more