OLED Is Still Coming to the iMac and MacBook Air (But Not Anytime Soon)

Apple finally brought OLED technology to the Mac with yesterday’s MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, and even moved it beyond the pricey iPad Pro into the more affordable iPad mini. However, we may have a bit of a wait ahead of us before these improvements extend to more Apple devices.

While the iPhone family has mostly been all-in on OLED since the iPhone 12 lineup adopted it in late 2020 (save for the 2022 iPhone SE, which kept an LCD screen until the iPhone 16e replaced it), it took a bit longer for the technology to move even to the iPad, much less the Mac.

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Following a few years dabbling in mini-LED screens, Apple brought a new tandem OLED panel to the M4 iPad Pro in early 2024, which it extended to the MacBook Pro this week. Meanwhile, the iPad mini (A20 Pro) gets an older LTPS OLED panel that’s limited to a fixed 60 Hz refresh rate, similar to what’s used in the iPhone 17e, iPhone 16, and older base models.

However, it doesn’t look like we’ll see any new OLED Macs before 2028. At least, that’s the word from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in this week’s Power On newsletter, where he notes that while an OLED MacBook Air and iMac are both on the roadmap and already in testing, we can still expect at least one more non-OLED release of each first.

Meanwhile, there’s almost zero chance the MacBook Neo will be getting OLED in the near future. Apple’s lowest-cost MacBook already lags behind the pricier models with a more basic Liquid Retina display that lacks P3 wide color and True Tone technology, and even that’s not expected to change anytime soon.

If anything, the next device on deck to get OLED may be the iPad Air. A supply chain report earlier this year suggested the M5 iPad Air was on track for OLED in early 2027, which would align with a 2023 roadmap that’s been mostly accurate so far, predicting the iPad Pro in 2024 and the iPad mini in 2026. However, it also suggested a “10.9-inch iPad Air” would gain OLED this year, with a 12.9-inch model getting the better screen in 2027.

This was before Apple decided to round those numbers to an even 11 and 13 inches, but a split release across the two sizes also seemed unlikely. That makes a unified early 2027 launch a safer bet, especially with the iPad Air having already settled into a spring release cycle.

Gurman notes that Apple is also considering expanding the MacBook Pro touchscreen to the entire Mac lineup eventually — assuming the touch MacBook Pro turns out to be a success, of course. However, it’s unclear if that will come alongside the OLED panels or if Apple will hold it off for a second generation. Initially, a touchscreen MacBook Air or iMac would likely be sold as a higher-tier version, just like the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display, which sits $400 above the equivalent standard MacBook Pro models.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]