MacBook Pro Won't Switch to OLED Display Next Year, Two Analysts Say

While it has been rumored that the MacBook Pro will eventually get an OLED display, two analysts believe that change won't happen next year.

m3 mbp space black
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and display industry analyst Ross Young today both predicted that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will continue to use mini-LED displays in 2025. This lines up with previous rumors that have claimed the MacBook Pro will switch to OLED display technology as early as 2026.

Compared to current MacBook Pro models with LCD screens, benefits of OLED technology would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more. The switch to OLED displays could also contribute to future MacBook Pro models having a thinner design.

The next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips are rumored to be announced in October, with no design changes expected. Apple last redesigned the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2021, and the latest models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips were released last October.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...

Top Rated Comments

turbineseaplane Avatar
8 months ago
Of course not

Apple has stopped worrying about making the best products they can

It's now just a big product/price tiering and Services rent extraction operation
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Account25476 Avatar
8 months ago
After it took them 4 years to pick 5 colors and add a USB-C port to the AirPods Max, it will take at least 5 more years to put an OLED on a Mac.

Meanwhile, the customer keeps paying.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
8 months ago
I wonder why it's taking so long... other brands like Asus, Dell, and Lenovo already have laptops with OLED screens. Is there just some super-secret sauce that Apple insists on adding to theirs that makes it impossible to just use whatever screen technology already exists? ?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
8 months ago
Honestly what’s going on with Apple, after the AirPods max having nothing, and all designs not changing year after year, now the MacBooks, I have the M1 Max MacBook Pro 16 and 4 years in and all we get is chip bump each year; how about removing the notch or make it lighter or something; it’s like Apple doesn’t have any design team anymore. This is poor
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
8 months ago
What's more profitable for Apple: reuse the same old technology that "we" will "just buy anyway" or adopt the newer, more expensive technology that we will also buy but make less profit for AAPL? If the money is going to readily change hands anyway, I presume AAPL is clinging to the "most profitable" choice.

Windows PCs generally lack Apple's fat margins courtesy of intense competition. So they can put in a superior technology like OLED screens and still be priced below MBs. How? By not demanding such a big cut of each transaction as profit. And all that competition presses them to try to out-FAB each other in pursuit of more volume vs. maximize profit per unit sold to a relatively small number of buyers.

Apple can just do what modern Apple does: prioritize profit above all else. They know "we" will buy anyway. Throw us a bone with a new case color or other visible but barely meaningful benefit beyond an immediate reaction.

If we want big, (r)evolutionary changes, we- as a group- have to speak the only language modern Apple will hear: opt to NOT buy and they'll "try harder." Else, complain/whine/gripe but buy anyway and seller is doing exactly the right thing: maximizing profit for shareholders.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Isengardtom Avatar
8 months ago

I wonder why it's taking so long... other brands like Asus, Dell, and Lenovo already have laptops with OLED screens. Is there just some super-secret sauce that Apple insists on adding to theirs that makes it impossible to just use whatever screen technology already exists? ?
They probably want good brightness so tandem OLED + keeping their margins. I suspect the screen tech is too expensive for such large panels
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)