MBP Mini led vs OLED?

[Serengeti1]

Display is the most important aspect of a laptop for me personally with my usage. I'm wondering what you guys think of the MBP's mini led display vs oled displays. Oled is supposed to be better than mini led for black levels and contrast, not too dissimilar, but definitely better. The thing is mbp's are better than other laptops in every other area. So it's difficult for me to go for an oled when the mbp is better everywhere else.

 

[leman]

Apple has been playing a long-term game at improving the display technology in consumer PCs. They popularized HiDPI displays, then they popularized wide-color displays, and now they introducing HDR (done properly) displays. They actually do have HDR OLED displays — on their high-end iPhones, they are capable of quite high dynamic range. But it seems that the industry is yet unable to supply enough OLED displays with the characteristics Apple needs. MiniLED seems to work well enough for now and it is a stopgap until OLED technology becomes advanced enough to do what Apple wants. Keep in mind that Apple ships more high-end display panels than probably any other laptop manufacturer, which makes supply constrain a huge problem for them.

There are some very nice OLED laptop displays currently at the market, but Apple's miniLED are truly top of the crop. The only real issue with them are the very very slow response times, but it's not a problem for most users.

 

[white7561]

OLED is always better than mini led IMHO. The only drawback is that OLED has burn in issue. And that's a no go in a laptop that has persistent menu bar, dock, etc. So I really think mini led is a good choice since it's better than normal IPS/LCD display but lower than OLED which has burn in issues.

 

[leman]

OLED is always better than mini led IMHO. The only drawback is that OLED has burn in issue. And that's a no go in a laptop that has persistent menu bar, dock, etc. So I really think mini led is a good choice since it's better than normal IPS/LCD display but lower than OLED which has burn in issues.

OLED also has a problem with peak brightness and power consumption is a hit and miss. Peak brightness is crucial to Apple since that's the key to their extended dynamic range (HDR) technology.

 

[white7561]

OLED also has a problem with peak brightness and power consumption is a hit and miss. Peak brightness is crucial to Apple since that's the key to their extended dynamic range (HDR) technology.

1000nits is easy for OLED AFAIK since we already have those in phones. But yeh if OLED doesn't have an issue with burn ins. I would get an OLED with 1000nits max brightness than a mini led display with 1600nits burst max brightness . Especially to get that battery life in dark mode apps and to get that crazy amazing contrast ratio without any blooming.

Tho i haven't really noticed the blooming on normal usage. Only on high brightness and super high brightness like watching an HDR movie etc

 

[Mayo86]

Personally I really enjoy this miniLED display. Compared to the M1 iPad Pro's miniLED on the 12.9-inch, very little blooming. Contrast is great, colors pop, it gets bright, etc.

I have no qualms with this display technology for the next while. If they switch to OLED in the future and can mitigate any potential burn-in issues, great. For now, I am happy with the display on the 16 inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro/Max lines.

 

[leman]

1000nits is easy for OLED AFAIK since we already have those in phones. But yeh if OLED doesn't have an issue with burn ins. I would get an OLED with 1000nits max brightness than a mini led display with 1600nits burst max brightness . Especially to get that battery life in dark mode apps and to get that crazy amazing contrast ratio without any blooming.

Well, high-end OLED displays in modern laptops usually have the brightness of 400 nits or lower, with poor battery life. Check out the Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 15 for example (kind of same laptop category as the 16" M1 Pro/Max): expensive, beautiful 4K OLED display, 350nits brightness max, battery life non-existent.

 

[fakestrawberryflavor]

I leave my MBP docked, open, and screen on almost 100% of the time for my workflow. An OLED would be a no-go for me and would need to buy a different solution unfortunately. I hope LCD is here for a while.

 

[CWallace]

1000nits is easy for OLED AFAIK since we already have those in phones.

The larger the panel, the lower the peak brightness. As leman noted, laptop OLED displays have peak brightness of about half that of the iPhone. I would not at all be surprised if laptop displays are using OLED television mother glass for their panels and OLED televisions have much lower peak brightness levels than the smartphones.

Samsung's QD-OLED does allow higher peak brightness for computer monitors and televisions, but it is only now starting to enter mass production and it is significantly more expensive than "standard" OLED as like LG.

 

[white7561]

Well, high-end OLED displays in modern laptops usually have the brightness of 400 nits or lower, with poor battery life. Check out the Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 15 for example (kind of same laptop category as the 16" M1 Pro/Max): expensive, beautiful 4K OLED display, 350nits brightness max, battery life non-existent.

Yeh. It's prob different since different panel sizes etc than a phone. But yeh. Mini LED is good enough. The blooming is 100% worth the HDR and the better contrast ratio. And when I notice a blooming scene etc. I just think to myself that if I were on the older normal LCD display without mini led. It'll just all be washed out since the black is basically the same color as the bloom I'm seeing right now.

 

[white7561]

The larger the panel, the lower the peak brightness. As leman noted, laptop OLED displays have peak brightness of about half that of the iPhone. I would not at all be surprised if laptop displays are using OLED television mother glass and OLED televisions have much lower peak brightness levels than the smartphones.

Samsung's QD-OLED does allow higher peak brightness for computer monitors and televisions, but it is only now starting to enter mass production and it is significantly more expensive than "standard" OLED as like LG.

Yeh. It's prob different when the size difference got bigger. But yeh can't wait for an even better display technology to come

 

[darngooddesign]

My current daily laptop is over six years old; im not interested in having persistent things, like the apple menu icon, long-term burn into the OLED screen.

 

[white7561]

My current daily laptop is over six years old; im not interested in having persistent things, like the apple menu icon, long-term burn into the OLED screen.

Yeah that's why mini led is the best tech as of yet until we have another better one without burn in issues

 

[CWallace]

MicroLED will be the "holy grail" - perfect blacks, high peak brightness and no burn-in or blooming.

Just have to wait for the technology to mature for consumer uses beyond the current 100+ inch televisions with $100,000USD+ price tags.

 

[white7561]

MicroLED will be the "holy grail" - perfect blacks, high peak brightness and no burn-in or blooming.

Just have to wait for the technology to mature for consumer uses beyond the current 100+ inch televisions with $100,000USD+ price tags.

Yeh but it's prob gonna take awhile

 

[Lukomaldini]

For me Mini LED is perfect. The blacks are very inky and the brights are bright. The main benefit for me would be the burn in for OLED. I know they have technology to combat it but I still have a little scratch at the back of my head about menu burn ins. My MacBook Pro will be delivered in a couple of weeks but on the iPad Pro they are great. I can leave the display on without worrying about potential burn in.

Until we have either Micro LED or they find a way to make burn in a non issue, Mini LED will be king at this display size

 

[MayaUser]

OLED is always better than mini led IMHO. The only drawback is that OLED has burn in issue. And that's a no go in a laptop that has persistent menu bar, dock, etc. So I really think mini led is a good choice since it's better than normal IPS/LCD display but lower than OLED which has burn in issues.

just with burn issues? peak brightness, sustained higher brightness, blue led shifts aways so early...
For smartphones oled are fine, because the displays stays on for multiple sessions but short sessions ..for monitors, laptops etc...oled is no near close to miniLed...a new tech that already surpass the decades of oleds
I suspect in 4 years we will have even better miniled with even more minileds inside with even more controllable dimming zones and so on...oled now, kind of reach its potential in the big picture...
micro-Led is the future, but its very very hard to shrink down the pixels at Apple scales that it needs
So , since micro-led is so far away still....and oled reached its potential...i suspect more companies to adopt mini-led display for laptops and displays

 

[white7561]

just with burn issues? peak brightness, sustained higher brightness, blue led shifts aways so early...
For smartphones oled are fine, because the displays stays on for multiple sessions but short sessions ..for monitors, laptops etc...oled is no near close to miniLed...a new tech that already surpass the decades of oleds
I suspect in 4 years we will have even better miniled with even more minileds inside with even more controllable dimming zones and so on...oled now, kind of reach its potential in the big picture...
micro-Led is the future, but its very very hard to shrink down the pixels at Apple scales that it needs
So , since micro-led is so far away still....and oled reached its potential...i suspect more companies to adopt mini-led display for laptops and displays

Well yeah either we get more dimming zones and better blooming control or micro LED. It only goes up from here

 

[OZ_]

I have nausea and headaches from this mini led display (MBP M1 16''). So not everything is so shiny. I would like to say that I have no issues and love this screen... but instead, I have to decide: should I return it or just wait till summer (hoping that my brains will not be burned completely till that moment) and replace it with the new MBA M2.

 

[CWallace]

I have nausea and headaches from this mini led display (MBP M1 16''). So not everything is so shiny. I would like to say that I have no issues and love this screen... but instead, I have to decide: should I return it or just wait till summer (hoping that my brains will not be burned completely till that moment) and replace it with the new MBA M2.

If this is caused by PWM, one can expect the M2 MacBook Air will also have it as that display is expected to be updated to MiniLED.

 

[OZ_]

If this is caused by PWM, one can expect the M2 MacBook Air will also have it as that display is expected to be updated to MiniLED.

Every screen has PWM, but I have no issues with my MBA M1 and iPhone 12. So there is a hope still

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I have nausea and headaches from this mini led display (MBP M1 16''). So not everything is so shiny. I would like to say that I have no issues and love this screen... but instead, I have to decide: should I return it or just wait till summer (hoping that my brains will not be burned completely till that moment) and replace it with the new MBA M2.

Every screen has PWM, but I have no issues with my MBA M1 and iPhone 12. So there is a hope still

Exactly and the PMW frequency is really high on the new MacBooks so I wouldn't necessarily chalk it up to that. Did you ever think it could be the ProMotion? The new 13 Pro would give me the same nausea/headache after about 15min almost like I had motion sickness which is common in high refresh rates albeit rarely discussed. Took about a month to get used to it but just an idea.

 

[OZ_]

Exactly and the PMW frequency is really high on the new MacBooks so I wouldn't necessarily chalk it up to that. Did you ever think it could be the ProMotion? The new 13 Pro would give me the same nausea/headache after about 15min almost like I had motion sickness which is common in high refresh rates albeit rarely discussed. Took about a month to get used to it but just an idea.

Maybe. Here are more details about what I've tried:
https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookpro/comments/rh9bdm

 

[NdTonks]

OLED is not suitable. Even with the latest screen technology for OLED (pixel exercising etc...) they still have burn in. I would take LED anyday over OLED

 

[bobcomer]

Display is the most important aspect of a laptop for me personally with my usage. I'm wondering what you guys think of the MBP's mini led display vs oled displays. Oled is supposed to be better than mini led for black levels and contrast, not too dissimilar, but definitely better. The thing is mbp's are better than other laptops in every other area. So it's difficult for me to go for an oled when the mbp is better everywhere else.

I *really* like OLED's, the contrast is ever so much better to my eyes, so a miniLED really doesn't do much for me. Maybe when you can buy microLED. (but by then, you'll be able to buy stacked OLED's, so who knows.

The MBP is a great laptop if you don't need any kind of intel compatibility. I stuck with my Dell XPS 15 and its OLED for any display stuff I might want to do and the next laptop I buy will probably be OLED as well. My Christmas present to myself was a new 12" OLED tablet.