Apple’s MacBook Pro with OLED will turn up in 2026, to be followed by a MacBook Air, we’re told.
That’s the latest rumor in a long chain of chatter pertaining to Apple’s OLED plans, and it comes from analyst Jeff Pu (of Haitong International Technology Research).
MacRumors got hold of an investor memo in which Pu predicted that Apple will bring out OLED MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models at some point in 2026.
As everyone is now forecasting, Pu also asserted that the next in line for an OLED upgrade is the iPad Pro. Apple is apparently intending to ship around 10 million units of these tablets in the first year of their existence.
The MacBook Air will also get OLED, Pu believes, stating that such a model is under development, but the MacBook Pro should arrive first.
Analysis: Consensus over OLED timeline
To sum up, this puts the iPad Pro as getting OLED in 2024, the MacBook Pro in 2026, and the MacBook Air maybe the year after that, 2027? Although the latter isn’t made clear.
As noted, there’s a veritable army of rumors that Apple is going to launch iPad Pro OLED models next year, and as for the MacBook Pro speculation, the idea that these laptops are set to benefit from OLED in 2026 is one advanced by other sources.
Although of late, the possibility of that date sliding to 2027 has been mentioned – and when we’re talking plans that extend a few years down the line, it’s always possible for things to slide. (Indeed, it’s always possible Apple could change its mind and go another route entirely – who knows).
The MacBook Air with OLED arriving in 2027 also chimes with recent spillage which claims the same thing – and that different OLED iMac models will arrive later in that year, though Pu does not mention this.
So, the overall picture is one of a forming consistency over Apple’s OLED timeframe, but as mentioned, things could change even if this is the current plan. Sprinkle seasoning aplenty, in short, but outside of the iPad, there’s going to be quite a wait for OLED coming to Apple laptops.
While OLED monitors are certainly becoming more popular now (and are on our best gaming monitors list, offering jaw-dropping image quality), there remain concerns about burn-in. It’s more of a worry on a PC screen with lots of constant static elements (on the desktop), as opposed to an OLED TV – and this might be part of Apple’s caution, maybe, in terms of how best to mitigate any such dangers.