You're going to have to be patient if you want an OLED iMac, with the recent rumors suggesting that Apple is very early in the testing process.

After many years of using LED backlighting and using miniLED in some cases, Apple has gradually been moving its product lines to OLED. However, the expense of the technology means some products will get it far later than others.

In the case of the 24-inch iMac, ZDNet Korea reports that Apple plans to bring the OLED iMac out by 2029 or 2030.

Sources of Monday's report say that Apple has made requests to Samsung Display and LG Display to produce iMac OLED samples via their mass production facilities. Of the two, Samsung Display is anticipated to be the faster responder, which could help it gain some orders.

Samsung's display panel samples are set to have a pixel density of 220 pixels per inch. This is higher than the existing 160PPI Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) panels that it is currently producing for displays, but new equipment will help boost the density.

LG Display will respond with White OLED (W-OLED) panels, but at a slower rate than Samsung. There is also the belief that the LG panels aren't as bright as Samsung's QD-LED versions, which will count against it.

That said, LG is working on a new five-stack panel using W-OLED, instead of the existing four-stack version. The in-development panel adds an extra green layer, which boosts brightness, but it has yet to reach mass production.

While ZDNet Korea isn't as well known in the West, it is often the source of supply chain reports. However, when it comes down to predictions like the 2029 to 2030 timeframe, its accuracy has been somewhat questionable.

A second display request

The report adds that this is not the first time that Apple has talked to its suppliers about an OLED iMac. In December, it made a Request for Information (RFI) from Samsung Display and LG Display for finalized specifications for the display itself.

At the time, and reiterated in the March report, the 24-inch display will have a pixel density of 218 to 220 pixels per inch. This puts it at the same resolution as the current 4.5K Retina panel in the existing iMac.

When it comes to brightness, Apple wants the new screen to be much brighter. While the current model kicks out 500 nits of brightness, the OLED version is expected by Apple to have a maximum brightness of 600 nits.

The previous report was more ambitious on the timeline than the current one. At the time, it was proposed that the better OLED display will arrive in 2027, which is a very aggressive schedule in comparison to a 2029 release.