MacBook Air and MacBook Pro: Supply chain details on new display technologies
OLEDs are already in use in notebooks in the Windows world for years, but Apple isn't satisfied with the quality. New plans are now coming from the supply chain.
Man with MacBook.
(Image: Farknot Architect / Shutterstock.com)
So far, there is only one Apple device with a large OLED screen: the iPad Pro M4 in 11 and 13-inch formats. The hope that organic light-emitting diodes will soon find their way into MacBooks is now dampened by reports from Apple's Asian supply chain: nothing is likely to happen before 2026, and possibly not even before 2028 for some models. The reason seems to be that Apple is not yet satisfied with the quality offered by suppliers – although PC notebooks have already been equipped with OLED screens for years.
Apple tests Samsung display
As the South Korean electronics trade journal The Elec reported this week, Apple is currently hoping to launch the first MacBook Pro with OLED technology by the end of 2026. The manufacturer is reportedly Samsung subsidiary Samsung Display, which is to use its eighth-generation process – Apple has reportedly booked a large part of the capacity of one of two production lines with the appropriate machines for itself. This is also supposed to be a kind of test: if production goes smoothly, Samsung Display could later also become a supplier for a mass model – the MacBook Air with OLED –. But this will take time, as Apple has reportedly postponed the date from 2027 to 2029.
Videos by heise
The two Samsung display production lines are said to be able to produce up to 10 million panels per year – based on an average size of 14.3 inches –. The supplier is therefore looking for additional customers until it can also produce for the MacBook Air. The investments are said to have been large: The 8th generation plant probably cost almost 3 billion euros. The MacBook Pro with OLED would not only have a more efficient and more colorful panel, but could also be thinner thanks to the new screen technology. Apple had installed more ports in its Apple Silicon MacBook Pro machines and made them slightly thicker than their Intel predecessors. Thanks to OLED, the devices could be somewhat thinner again.
MacBook Air with OLED, not until 2029?
For the MacBook Air, which is Apple's entry-level notebook, the step towards OLED could initially be bridged by an interim measure. As The Elec writes, so-called oxide TFT panels using conventional LCD technology will be available from 2027, which will enable lower power consumption, greater sharpness and higher refresh rates, among other things.
This will also improve the switching times of individual pixels. In addition to Samsung Display, the Chinese company BOE could also be a supplier, although it has caused Apple problems in the past due to quality defects. The manufacturer is also facing sanctions from the USA because it supplies the Chinese government.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
