OLED displays will allow for thinner MacBook Pros, claims reliable analyst

Mark Gurman, in a recent PowerOn newsletter, claimed that next year's iPhone 17 lineup will be 'significantly skinnier', akin to the recently launched iPad Pro which is substantially thinner than its predecessor. He also mentioned that the MacBook and Watch lineups will follow in the iPhone 17's footsteps and feature slimmer enclosures. Now, display analyst Ross Young has further added weight to Mark's claims, stating that tandem OLED display will indeed help make the MacBook Pro lineup thinner.

As noted in our coverage of Mark's claims, Apple Silicon has certainly opened up new doors for the Mac lineup when it comes to efficiency and performance. This allowed for thin, fanless designs, such as the MacBook Air, which were heavily criticized for poor performance and thermal inefficiencies prior to the Apple Silicon era. Therefore, Apple's move towards thinner designs is hardly a concern now, at least from an efficiency and performance standpoint.

Ross Young, as well as other reliable tipsters, have repeatedly mentioned that Apple will inevitably switch to OLED displays for their MacBook Pro lineup, starting as soon as 2026. When asked by a fellow Twitter user why the switch hasn't been made already, Ross stated that Apple has been waiting for their tandem OLED tech to mature - which has largely alleviated the brightness and longevity concerns that typical OLED displays have long been associated with, as well as for prices to come down.

OLED displays have many advantages - true blacks, incredibly low response times, vivid and accurate colors, and are also less power-hungry compared to the Mini LED displays that the current MacBook Pro lineup sports. If Apple can pull off a slimmer design that does not impede performance or usability - like many of their previous designs, unfortunately - there seems to be no cause for alarm. However, since the OLED MacBook Pros are still around 2 years away at the very least, it is rather hard to project how things will play out in reality.