Apple Reportedly Planning 13-Inch MacBook Air and iPad Pros With OLED Displays

It appears "increasingly likely" that Apple will launch a new 13-inch MacBook with an OLED display in 2024, according to display industry analyst Ross Young. In a tweet shared with his Super Followers today, Young said the notebook is expected to be a new MacBook Air, but he said there is a possibility it will have other branding.

Oled iPads and MackBook Pro Notch
Young, who has accurately revealed a range of display-related information for the iPhone 13 Pro, iPad mini, MacBook Pro, and other devices, also expects Apple to release new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with OLED displays in 2024.

In another tweet shared with his Super Followers, Young said the OLED displays in all three new devices will adopt a two-stack tandem structure, in which there are two red, green, and blue emission layers, allowing for increased brightness and lower power consumption. OLED displays also do not require backlighting for further power efficiency.

Young said all of the devices will adopt LTPO display technology for a variable refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz, a feature that Apple calls ProMotion. All iPad Pro models released since 2017 already feature ProMotion, but the refresh rate can only drop as low as 24Hz, while ProMotion would be all new to the MacBook Air.

Apple is currently focused on transitioning its Mac and iPad lines to LCD displays with mini-LED backlighting, and OLED displays would be the next step. Unlike mini-LED displays, OLED panels use self-emitting pixels and do not require backlighting, which could improve contrast ratio and further contribute to longer battery life.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...

Top Rated Comments

macsplusmacs Avatar
45 months ago
My always on screen on my 2024 MacBook will say:

GET BACK TO WORK.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
45 months ago

It seems more than a little...unseemly...to report information on a free website that the original author is reporting to his Super Followers on his Twitter feed. It feels uncomfortably like scraping a photo off a website and using it despite copyright issues. There would be challenges to Fair Use, I think. It's a news item, but there are commercial ads on this page. It would be hard not to use the great majority of a tweet, rather than an insubstantial portion. And using the report here damages the Tweeter's ability to charge for subscriptions. I'm not a lawyer, but a professional photographer, and most of us have had experience with copyright infringers. This feels like it.
Ross Young gave us his ongoing permission to publish information he shares with his Super Followers on Twitter.

(We simply asked him. We're not paying him extra or anything like that.)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
45 months ago
Yeah, makes total sense that Apple would debut new (and very expensive) screen technology in their cheapest laptop ?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CWallace Avatar
45 months ago

I mean how many years does Apple need to release OLED notebooks? Samsung and LG has been doing this for years...
Apple doesn't release a technology just because they can. They release it when it's up to their standards.

Samsung had OLED smartphone displays before Apple, but the iPhone X's OLED display was better than the peer Galaxy (even though both used OLEDs from Samsung Display) because Apple had higher standards than Samsung Electronics did.

So you can be confident that Apple's laptop OLEDs will be superior to the competition, even if they are sourced from the same supplier.



OLED is no blooming, but prone to burn-in.
There are a number of burn-in mitigation technologies available to mitigate this. Apple could also decide to cover burn-in under AppleCare (like Alienware does with their new QD-OLED gaming monitor) to help address concerns.



Interestingly, QD-OLED will be on other brands of laptops and tablets in 2024 and even maybe microled by then. Apple needs to step up.
Consumer Micro-LED in the size for laptop, tablet and phone displays is probably a decade away. Micro-LED modules are still measured in meters and priced in the tens of thousands of dollars which is why Micro-LED TVs are in the 100"-plus range with $100,000-plus price-tags.


Yeah, makes total sense that Apple would debut new (and very expensive) screen technology in their cheapest laptop ?
OLED is excellent for video content consumption and I expect that is a common use case for Airs.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Love-hate ? relationship Avatar
45 months ago

I mean how many years does Apple need to release OLED notebooks? Samsung and LG has been doing this for years...

and then I think MiniLED notebooks are fine enough. It's not like any professional will be doing heavy lifting of perfecting colors on notebook screen anyway...

Making notebook lighter would be my preference. I know it's difficult to make notebooks as rock solid as MacBooks without compromising some on weights, but there must be ways nonetheless...
well that's doublestack oled which is something that doesnt exist for purchase as of now,i believe

miniled are fine,but oled with dark mode with help saving a ton of battery.+ltpo with 1hz too

also ,you know,blooming.and even better contrast.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kevin2055 Avatar
45 months ago

Don’t agree, OLED had many screen burn problems in early years but now they are pretty resilient to this. Also own a iPhone X for newly 5 years and has a OLED screen and not one problem with it no screen burn or anything. Apple would never use them if they had a chance of this
Because you don’t leave a menu bar or task bar on screen for hours to days on phone.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)