While many of Apple’s competitors use OLED screens, Apple sticks with mini-LED on its MacBook Pro – and the results are spectacular. As we said when we reviewed the M3 Max MacBook Pro, it has the best display of any laptop, hands down.

Still, there are rumors that Apple is working on something even better: its own OLED display that could take the MacBook Pro to the next level. It’s early days and all kinds of rumors are flying around, but it seems that something big is definitely in the works.

To keep you updated, we’ve scoured the rumor mill for the latest happenings. We’ve compiled everything in this guide, so by the end of it, you should be well-informed about the OLED MacBook Pro. Here’s everything we know so far.

Speculations about price and release date

There is currently a lot of uncertainty about the future price of the OLED MacBook Pro, but we can look to the past as a guide. For example, when Apple redesigned the 2021 MacBook Pro with 14-inch and 16-inch mini-LED panels, it increased the price by $100. However, this update also brought a number of new features, including new Apple silicon chips and the notch display.

If Apple only upgrades the screen to OLED this time and keeps everything else the same, the price may not change. However, if Apple takes the opportunity for a more comprehensive overhaul, don’t be surprised if the price goes up slightly.

And when might we see all this? Well, that is also uncertain. Currently, there are several possible release dates. According to According to Korean news outlet ETNews, Apple will launch a 16-inch OLED MacBook Pro in 2025 and a 14-inch version the following year. However, industry analysts at Omdia expect both models to switch to OLED in 2026.

But they’re not the only ones making predictions. Noted analyst Ross Young has said Apple plans to launch OLED MacBook Pros in 2026 or 2027, while news site The Elec believes 2027 is the date to keep an eye on. To complicate matters further, The Elec’s report focuses on when a specific supplier will be able to supply Apple with OLED panels – it could be that other suppliers (and thus the MacBook Pro itself) will be ready before then.

With Apple, it’s usually best to err on the side of caution when it comes to release dates. The company prefers to wait a little longer and get a product out there properly rather than rushing to market with an unfinished and unfinished device. With that in mind, a release date closer to 2026 or 2027 seems safer.

Design and features

Given how long we’re likely to have to wait for the first OLED MacBook Pro, it’s difficult to predict its design with any great certainty. Apple last redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021, so it may feel like a revamp is in order in 2026 or 2027. Perhaps then it will finally be able to to omit the notch and place the Face ID camera system under the display, but that is just speculation for now.

But since we’re talking about Apple here, the company will probably want to include some high-end extras to attract potential buyers. And with that in mind, Young has claimed that Apple’s first OLED panels with several world firsts to brag about. Specifically, he believes it will be the “first OLED tablets using LTPO, the first OLED tablets using tandem stack, the brightest and longest lasting OLEDs in tablets, and the lightest and thinnest OLEDs in tablets due to glass thinning and TFE.”

Stripped of jargon and acronyms, Young’s post essentially means that he believes Apple’s OLED displays are very economical in terms of battery life while also offering excellent brightness, all in a thin and light panel. Although he discussed OLED panels specifically in the context of the iPad Pro, we wouldn’t be surprised to see similar technology used in the MacBook Pro.

And it looks like Young’s predictions were pretty much right. Because Apple unveiled an OLED iPad Pro at an event on May 7, and that tablet featured – you guessed it – a tandem OLED stack that allowed Apple to make the device even thinner. Now that they’re in the iPad, we think it’s only a matter of time before this technology makes its way to the MacBook Pro, too.

And there’s more. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman has predicted that Apple could launch a MacBook with a touchscreen as early as 2025. If that turns out to be true, we can easily imagine Apple incorporating this technology into the OLED MacBook Pro when it launches a few years later. Oh, and the OLED iPad Pro is also now available with a nano-texture glass option that significantly reduces reflections. That’s something we can easily imagine for the MacBook Pro, especially since it’s already included in the Pro Display XDR designed for the Mac Pro.

What about the chip that powers all of this? That’s harder to predict, but we can make an educated guess. There are reports that Apple is looking to move its Macs to an annual upgrade cycle, possibly starting this year. If that’s true, the OLED MacBook Pro could feature an M6 or M7 series chip when it launches in 2026 or 2027, respectively.

What else gets an OLED display?

According to the rumors, Apple doesn’t plan to limit its OLED panels to the MacBook Pro. In fact, Apple could soon put them in almost every one of its devices. While iPhones have had OLED screens for years, most of Apple’s other devices could soon join them.

There are currently two main drafts of Apple’s future roadmap, one of which comes from ETNews and the other from Omdia. Starting with ETNews, the outlet believes we will see the following OLED timeline:

• iPad Pro in 2024
• 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2025
• 14-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, 11-inch iPad Air and 8.7-inch iPad mini in 2026
• 12.9-inch iPad Air, improved iPad Pro in 2027