Updated October 15th: article originally posted October 14th.
Apple is planning to update the hardware on the next MacBook Pro models to offer a more efficient laptop, but now we know of one eagerly anticipated upgrade that has been delayed for a very long time.
Update: Sunday October 15th: The multi-year delay for an OLED MacBook Pro is not the only delay that fans of the macOS laptop family face this weekend. Writing for Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports on the progress of the professionally focused 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air.
The former MacBook Pro laptops are currently going through design validation testing. This allows the production process to be examined and iterated to ensure that the laptops function as designed and meet the desired aesthetic standard. It’s likely that a hundred or so units will be assembled, some for testing by Apple employees, some tested to destruction, and others put through punishing simulations to assess robustness.
The latter MacBook Air laptops are not as far along the timeline; they are at engineering validation testing. A very small number of units will be manufactured and then critically examined to ensure the hardware is on course to meet the design goals. It’s not unknown for hardware to stay in an engineering validation loop for multiple iterations until all parties are satisfied.
Curiously, there’s no mention of the awkward consumer-focused 13-inch MacBook Pro getting an upgrade to the new M3 chipset. Perhaps Apple is finally moving on from the “MacBook Air with a fan and a sticker that says Pro” laptop?
Until now, Apple has launched the M1 and M2 Apple Silicon families with the 13-inch MacBook Air, with the larger MacBook Pro models launched later in the cycle. According to Gurman’s timelines the later MacBook Pro laptops, likely using the M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets, will be ready to launch first in spring 2024 while the consumer MacBook Air models will not be ready until summer 2024.
Whether that will be the case with the actual release dates remains to be seen.
Apple’s decision to delay the introduction of an OLED display to the MacBook Pro will be a huge disappointment. OLED displays can be found on countless laptops, but they cannot be found on any MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. When will Tim Cook and his laptop team offer the new technology? The latest information confirms this delay will be measured in years.
UBI Research reports that Samsung decided to invest in the 8th generation of OLED displays earlier this year, with a view to mass production commencing in the first half of 2026. These displays will be destined for various laptops, tablets, and monitors, which include the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
It’s common practice for Apple to split orders for major components over several suppliers. Samsung Display is generally joined by LG Display and BOE when supplying MacBook displays to Apple. I see no reason why this would not continue for the OLED variants, especially considering LG Display made a similar investment decision to Samsung in April this year to develop its OLED production lines.
Given the schedule for Apple’s major events, an OLED MacBook could see a launch at WWDC 2026; in my opinion, it’s more likely that we’ll see a new presumptively-named M4 chipset announced at that point, followed by a consumer-grade chipset appearing in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro in late 2026.
That would mean the professionally focused larger macOS laptop will not show up until Apple’s 2027 Q1 launch window.
This matches details from another source: the well-regarded industry analyst Ross Young. Speaking on a webinar organised by Bloomberg, Young stated there would not be an OLED display for any MacBook Pro model until 2026 or 2027 at the earliest. Although Young has discussed the 2026 timeframe previously, this is his first public mention of 2027 as a potential launch date.
All of which is promising for MacBook fans if they are happy to ignore the four-year wait. And, just like the indeterminable wait for a 15-inch laptop display on a consumer MacBook Air, Apple’s geekerati will wonder why they have to suffer as the Windows-powered market offers a wide range of OLED-equipped laptops today.
Now read how Apple will offer the next MacBook with more battery life…
