William Gallagher
A new supply chain report claims that Apple has pushed back adding an OLED screen to the MacBook Air, previously rumored to arrive in 2027.
It's been expected that Apple would bring an OLED screen to the MacBook Air for some time, and at times 2027 has been predicted. However, The Elec says that this has now changed and there won't be an OLED MacBook Air before 2028 at the earliest.
Citing unspecified sources within the components industry, the report says that suppliers believe the OLED MacBook Air has been postponed — for two reasons. One that is to be expected is the cost of OLED screens, and how that necessarily adds to the price of devices.
But the other is that the industry believes OLED in the latest iPad Pro has not proven to be the attraction that was expected. In late 2023, it was reportedly expect that shipments of the OLED iPad Pro would reach 10 million by the end of 2024.
Apple is said to have then dropped the estimates to around 8.5 million at the start of 2023. More recently, it has further dropped its prediction to between 6 and 7 million over the whole of 2024.
That's because while the OLED iPad Pro is said to have sold well in the second quarter of 2024 when it was released, sales have dropped markedly since then.
Apple is said to be hoping to see many firms compete to provide OLED displays, which will lead to lower prices. But at present, only Samsung is expected to deliver OLED screens for the MacBook Pro, and the iPad Pro display is made by Samsung and LG.
An unspecified official in the supply chain has claimed that Apple will accept a lower quality OLED screen. "We need to find a point where Apple's MacBook Air OLED performance can be close to the professional [MacBook Pro] level," said the official (in translation).
"If the OLED performance of the [MacBook Air] is close to the high-end model," continued the official, "we can increase the overall sales."
Separately, Apple has also been reported to have delayed the OLED MacBook Pro. However, it's now expected to be launched in 2026.
Note that The Elec has proved to be a decent source of Apple supply chain information. However, it tends to be far less accurate in the predictions it makes based on that information.
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"Citing unspecified sources within the components industry, the report says..."
Oh, yeah, and I'm sure they definitely know Apple's plans 4 years from now. And you rate this pile of guano as "Likely?" What you really need is a BS rating for Rumor Score.
This is a bit confusing to me. Why does having an OLED screen really matter? Is the current screen technology inhibiting users of the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro from getting their jobs done? Is the lack of OLED hurting sales or keeping Apple from encroaching deeper into non-Apple personal computing market share? Is there a fear that Apple’s current customers will abandon the Apple ecosystem and everything it entails to obtain an OLED screen on a PC in a less compelling ecosystem?
Finally, why would Apple want to keep pushing to make the MacBook Air even more like the MacBook Pro? If the differences become indistinguishable it may make more sense to drop the MacBook Air line entirely. It’s not like the MacBook Pros are that much chubbier thatn the MacBook Airs anymore. If it’s all about hitting a different price point it seems reasonable that they could serve that need by offering additional MacBook Pro configurations to go after “lower needs” customers.
As a general note, I’m still surprised that Apple has increased the number of different offerings in their product lines. One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about going into an Apple Store is the simplicity of selecting a particular product. Apple had fewer variations but there was a sense that what they did offer was always “best of breed”or nearly so n the product category. Choice is good, but only up to a certain point.
When I walk into a MicroCenter my brain wants to explode because there are too many choices. Quite a few are crap, many are mediocre, but there are also a few jewels hidden amongst the mediocrity and crapola. The only way I can survive in that environment is to do all of my discovery and research before walking into the store. It used to be that walking into an Apple Store was the polar opposite. Apple only had jewels on display, and yeah, some were shinier than others, but there was not a cloud of chaff to sort through. It’s no longer as easy as it once was because the performance of even the base models has shot up so far. There are now more areas of close overlap between product lines, with the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro being a prime example. Why make it even worse? Why not just settle on one product line that can satisfy a broader range of customers and hopefully eliminate some of the confusion and needless fuzziness around what constitutes a “pro” model over a “non-pro” model?
OLED displays have been used in Apple's smartphones since the iPhone X (2017) thus seven years.
They are brighter and do have better image quality. OLED display panels have been used on PC notebooks for several years now and of course on televisions for many more. And yes, the M4 iPad Pro also features an OLED panel so it's not like Apple is unaware of parts in this size category.
Clearly Apple has access to every single commercially viable display panel on the planet. And undoubtedly they have been testing OLED panels on MacBooks for several years in their labs. It's just a matter of time for a panel to come along with good performance at the right cost since Apple is going to protect their gross margins.
I agree with Charlesn. There is no analyst, pundit, or leaker who can accurately predict Apple's supply chain decisions four years out, especially since there have been viable components in the market for several years. This rumor should be flagged as BS -- not Likely.