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MacBook Pro Likely to Get OLED Display and Thinner Design in 2026

Dulcimer said:
M4 iPad Pro with Tandem OLED has full screen brightness of 1000 nits and peak brightness of 1600 nits (HDR). That matches these new M4 MBPs.

That screen tech already comes in 13” iPad Pronsize so it’s a matter of scaling a bit further for the two MBP screen sizes. No doubt it’s not cheap.
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Correct, it matches but does not "exceed" as stated in the article.
 
Reason077 said:
Until this latest generation, Apple's iPad Pro OLED screens were the brightest they ship on a large-screen portable device. With the M4 MacBook Pros, the new screen matches the brightness spec of that iPad display at 1000 nits standard / 1600 nits HDR peak.

But the iPhone 16 OLED display is still brighter than any LCD display that Apple ships on any device, with 2000 nits peak, exceeding even the Pro Display XDR. And the Watch Ultra goes to 3000 nits!
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The trick is scaling that up to the 14" and 16" sizes. I'm skeptical there will be OLED monitors that exceed the brightness and match the quality of the LED screens Apple is using in the next 1.5 years.
 
neuropsychguy said:
I know. The problem is making the assumption that it will be brighter than the LED Apple is using. If Apple goes to OLED, it will probably match the brightness (see iPad Pro screen specs vs MBP specs). That is unless there's some significant breakthrough in OLED in the next 1.5 years.
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You're probably right. I think matching the brightness is fine, though: 1000-1600 nits is already a very bright screen. Reduced power consumption, thinner profile, and improved response times are good enough reasons to move to OLED.
 
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Reason077 said:
Good to hear. I'm tempted by the base M4 MacBook Pro, but I'll probably wait for the M4 Air because I value portability and the Pro is just such a chunky monkey. Apple makes the most efficient chips in the industry, so there's no reason they can't make a slimmer, lighter Pro - especially when the base model shares exactly the same chip as the MacBook Air.
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The pro's were thinner on the previous intel generators remember? They only made them fatter to incorporate HDMI ports etc for the moaning pro users
 
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As an OLED Ipad Pro user, the blacks are indeed blacker, but I can't say I really *prefer* it over other screen tech. The lower battery life is the only feature that interests me about OLED (and battery life on my Ipad pro is abysmal and has been from day 1).

Re: the cellular option, I don't see why that's not an option. I still have (though rarely ever use) my old Ipad Air Cellular. If it can have a SIM and mobile data, I don't see why a portable notebook can't!

But practically speaking, I'm almost always in a place with wifi, and when I'm not, cant you just connect to your phone and piggyback off it's data? Apple makes it quite easy to do that. And it avoids a separate monthly line item charge for "notebook internet service charge."

I'm a MBA fan for life. Sorry but the 15" format is just perfect for me. Anything less is too difficult for my 40 yr old eyes to comfortably read, and anything more is too bulky. Of course, Steve Jobs was instrumental in the 15" MBP Retina (the famous "greatest laptop ever", which got everything right, and had ALL the ports (USB-A, HDMI, SD, etc.). but it's been a long time since we had a 15" "pro" option. The 15" MBA does everything I could want and nothing from this rumor makes me envious of the pro line.
 
MacRumors said:
Second is the just-mentioned thinner design. Earlier this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was working to make the MacBook Pro thinner over the "next couple of years." He said that Apple is aiming to create a class of devices that "should be the thinnest and lightest products in their categories across the whole tech industry."
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....uh....here we go again. We de-Ivy'd and got our many dongle-less ports back not so long ago....and now they're gonna dump them once more? yawn.
 
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This post just makes me want to get the just released ones even more. The two reasons mentioned will likely make it more expensive and possibly not as good a value as the current one. Right now is a great time to buy.
 
As long as they have this OLED redesign by 2029, I'm good. I spec'd my 14" M3 Max 16c/40c 64GB to last that long.

wdfly said:
Give me more power over thinner and lighter any day.
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I mean, the M4 Pro was just benchmarked as the fastest Apple Silicon yet (until M4 Max is benched), with 22-24 hours of battery life depending which size you get. By 2026 TSMC is expected to be on the 1.6nm process node, which is going to be insanely efficient compared to our current 3nm chips. I wouldn't be surprised if they pull off, by far, the fastest Macs ever with nearly a day of battery life that are a full third thinner.

Furthermore, I think OLED assemblies are thinner, and they use less battery. So combined, it makes perfect sense that they would start moving thinner again in 2026, because they could do so without compromise. Most people don't care if their laptop has more than 24 hours of battery life, lol. I just hope they never try that thinner keyboard crap again.
 
ttyRazor said:
The non-Pro Pro seems to mostly exist for the better display. It’d be nice to have the option for something Air-sized that also had ProMotion and 2x retina at regular scaling, but still have the maxed out battery and cooling for the M-whatever Pro and Max.
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This is exactly what I want: MacBook Air size and CPU with ProMotion display and battery.
 
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As an avid OLED enthusiast who prefers OLED on everything, I don’t mind the MacBook Pro continuing to use mini-LED. Apple is likely one of the best companies implementing mini-LED technology. It offers virtually no detectable blooming, backlight lag, great brightness and no burn in, and viewing angle really not something to worry about on a laptop.
 
Thin laptop you say? Is the MacBook Fold coming soon? The one That you can fold like an origami and play with it while also compute? How about making MacBook Fold only weight 20 grams? :rolleyes:
I am sure everything will be fine and we can still enjoy 24 hours of battery life even with that design, and peak OLED display and Apple Silicon and everything else: “The most powerful paper ever built in the entire world”. :rolleyes:
 
OLED MacBook Pro will be available only in 2026. So next version in 2025 should still be using mini LED.
 
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lovehateapple said:
Yeah, that's my concern about OLED too.
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Tandem OLED plays a big part in heavily reducing 'burn in'. But to echo what others have said here, OLED screens do cause eye strain and worse for those with PWM sensitivity like my self. The Tandem OLED is stunning it really is, but i cant use Night shift or True Tone on them as the dimming gives me headaches. Mini LED is the perfect middle ground in this regard.
 
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I love the design and size of the M1 MacBook Pro I've been using, and the M4 I just ordered. I've never once wished it were thinner. If it were, given the length and width, I'm afraid it would just seem fragile.
 
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mozumder said:
Looks like they'll make the lid thinner with OLED. I wish the camera section on the top lid would be thicker to enable better low-light capability. Give it a camera bump if you must.
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See, this is what confuses me, and what I was going to post. Making the lid thinner means we are getting shitier webcam and forget about ever getting Face ID as the current implementation is too thin to even facilitate it.
You also run into the issue of “cheap flimsy Windows laptop lids” or “bendgate” as I don’t think you could make a lid structurally sound enough if they got thinner.
They should be going the other way. Make the lid thicker and the body thinner.
 
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