Oh look, another round of rumors about new Apple display technologies. It’s not new. Apple has prioritized display quality for years, and many of its devices have some of the sharpest and sharpest screens in their class. On the other hand, Apple is rarely the first to adopt brand new display technologies – it was far behind Android phones when it came to always-on displays, higher refresh rates, variable refresh rates, and so on. The MacBook Pro only got HDR and ProMotion last year!
Over the past week, we’ve heard three new Apple display rumors worth investigating. The first is that Apple will start using microLED displays starting with the Apple Watch Ultra next year. Another is that the first MacBooks to use OLED displays are on the way as early as next year, and on a related note, touchscreen MacBooks are coming in 2025. Let’s take them one at a time.
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A microLED Apple Watch is a good idea
The idea that Apple will switch to microLED screens is not new. I wrote an article explaining microLED technology nearly five years ago when we first heard rumors that an Apple Watch with a microLED display was coming soon.
That’s right, we’ve been hearing about it since at least 2018! Frankly, that’s a great idea. A microLED display is thinner, brighter and more energy efficient than modern OLED displays, with faster response times. They almost look painted on, like some kind of incredibly high-quality e-ink, and you can get incredibly high pixel density.
The disadvantages of microLEDs are that they are expensive and difficult to build in large sizes. Samsung has a microLED TV, but it’s one of those “we make 100 and they cost $80,000”.
The technology is improving and becoming easier to manufacture on a large scale. The Apple Watch Ultra is therefore the perfect place for this – it’s small and expensive, and space and power are at a premium. Remember that the Apple Watch was the first Apple device to feature an OLED display.
Will Apple take the plunge? It’s hard to say – we’ve been here before – but microLEDs have never been closer to mass market adoption. It’s also rumored that Apple will manufacture the displays “in-house”, but that’s a bit of a misnomer. After further clarification, it looks like Apple would still be working with an expert partner in the field, but with more control over the design, specs, and manufacturing details than usual.
The Apple Watch was Apple’s first device with an OLED display, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Ultra get the first microLED display.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
OLED MacBooks seem inevitable
Here’s another one we’ve been hearing for years. More recently, Ming-chi Quo analyst said Apple would ship a MacBook with an OLED display by the end of 2024 “at the earliest”.
OLED screens are on Apple Watch and iPhone; Macs are the only Apple devices that still use LEDs. Now that OLED displays are more affordable in larger sizes and can surpass the current MacBook Pro display in brightness, contrast, and color gamut in the same power profile, it’s more a matter of “when ” than “if”.
These rumors have been circulating for a few years, especially in light of some high-end Windows laptops with OLED screens. It seems obvious that it will happen, it’s just a matter of timing.
Touchscreen MacBooks would be a huge change
Coinciding with the rumored MacBook OLED, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says 2025 will see a MacBook with not just OLED, but OLED touchscreen. This would of course mean a total of 180 from Apple’s earlier statements on this. Steve Jobs decried the concept, saying “your arms want to fall off” after reaching out to touch a computer screen for a moment.
But we have entered a new Mac era. With Apple silicon, the chips inside are essentially similar to those found in iPhones and iPads, just larger. Macs with Apple chips inside can run iPhone and iPad apps (many, but not all, anyway). It’s not a good experience most of the time, since apps for these devices are touch-first and macOS is pointer-driven.
This one seems a bit more iffy. Apple dabbled in touch control on MacBooks with the Touch Bar, which is now missing from the latest MacBook Pros. The company’s final decision on whether a future MacBook should be touch-enabled will likely come down to software rather than hardware. An OLED screen finally seems like a sure thing, but just making it easier to run iPad and iPhone apps on your Mac doesn’t seem like enough to warrant a touchscreen.
Apple will have to significantly modify macOS and its local applications, in addition to providing excellent tools for developers, to make touch MacBooks really interesting. I have no doubt that such experiments are currently underway within Apple, and the ultimate call on whether or not to adopt touchscreens will depend on the success of this development and design work.
