Apple may move its MacBook line to OLED by the end of 2024, according to analysts
Apple may move its MacBook line to OLED by the end of 2024, according to analysts
The switch from Mini LED would lend the laptops more design versatility
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: OLED tea leaves
📆 OLED laptops may be coming by late 2024, according to analyst reports
👍 The laptops likely to coincide with the first OLED iPads
💰 Previous reports said Apple was delaying OLED laptops because of high cost
🔆 Apple’s OLEDs would use new panels with better brightness and longevity
Signs continue to point to a late 2024 release of the first OLED MacBooks, according to longtime Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says the versatility of the display technology is driving the company to adopt it as soon as the end of 2024. If true, the move would coincide with the introduction of an iPad OLED the same year, a credible prediction made in June 2022 by analyst Ross Young, who also said then the laptop change is coming.
MacBook back on schedule
This is encouraging news for those waiting on Apple to make the switch, as the company allegedly delayed its first OLED MacBook because of prohibitive material and production costs related to the two-stack tandem structure the company has been interested in using, said The Elec in November 2021.
According to that report, laptops using the brighter, more durable OLED tech were due out in 2025, but were pushed back because of cost-prohibitive materials and production methods. However, continued indications that Samsung has accelerated investments in the new two-stack tandem method could mean those problems have been resolved, or at least will be on a satisfactory timeline for Apple.
Cost isn’t the only reason Apple has been reticent to jump on the OLED train. The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, explained in 2013 that OLED simply wasn’t up to the company’s color reproduction standards. Given its bread-and-butter creative professional base, out-of-the-box, that reasoning shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s hard to argue with Apple there, as even its LCD-based machines make for some of the best laptops.
MicroLED for the future
Today’s revelation stands in contrast to yesterday’s report that Apple may be taking display development in-house for the Apple Watch and iPhone in the future, switching from OLED to microLED. This would eventually reduce Apple’s reliance on long-time display partner Samsung, which, if you’re to believe all of the Samsung Galaxy S23 colors leaks recently, will launch its next iPhone-rivaling smartphone on February 1.
Given that, the current tea leaf interpreting going on around Samsung’s OLED investments could be over-interpreting moves by the company to keep Apple’s business, rather than fulfill any orders. Apple’s move to internally-designed microLED by 2024 for its phones and watches doesn’t mean it’s not going to use OLED for its laptops, but it doesn’t bode well for its partnership with Samsung.