Samsung Begins Mass Production of 14-Inch and 16-Inch OLED Displays That Apple Might Use for 2022 MacBook Pro

Samsung Display today announced that it has started mass production of 14-inch and 16-inch OLED displays for laptops, and a key feature of the panels is support for up to a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother appearing content.

OLED Macbook Pro Feature
Samsung Display said it has been supplying the OLED panels to global manufacturers, including ASUS, Lenovo, Dell, HP, and Samsung Electronics, for use in laptops, including ASUS's recently announced Zenbook and Vivobook Pro laptops. Apple was not mentioned as being a customer, but Korean website The Elec last month reported that Samsung Display was preparing its production lines for future MacBooks with OLED displays, and DigiTimes has said Apple plans to launch a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an OLED display in 2022.

MacBook Pro models currently use LCD displays with a 60Hz refresh rate, so the potential move to OLED and 90Hz would be significant. OLED benefits include higher brightness, improved contrast, deeper blacks, and more, while a 90Hz refresh rate would result in smoother appearing content while watching videos, gaming, and scrolling text.

In the meantime, rumors suggest Apple will soon release redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with LCD displays, but with mini-LED backlighting, which offers many of the same advantages as OLED. Given that large OLED displays are expensive to manufacture, perhaps Apple will eventually offer both mini-LED and OLED versions of the MacBook Pro, with the latter technology reserved for higher-priced configurations.

Apple already uses OLED displays for the Apple Watch and several iPhone models, including the entire iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups. Samsung is reportedly the exclusive supplier of OLED displays for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro 14 & 16"
Tags: OLED, Samsung
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

skaertus Avatar
33 months ago
I wonder if it even makes sense for Apple to offer both MiniLED and OLED on the same line of laptops. Even though OLED may be generally perceived as superior, MiniLED has its advantages (such as brighter displays and no risk of burn-in), so it may not be an obvious choice and may even lead to confusion among consumers, which is something Apple traditionally avoids.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunny5 Avatar
33 months ago
OLED is not great at all for bigger screen. They still not able to fix the burn in issue. I really don't wanna spend my time and money on OLED. There is a reason why many pro monitors aren't OLED.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LFC2020 Avatar
33 months ago
Digitimes go away already ?‍♂️?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mango316 Avatar
33 months ago

My body is ready.
But is your wallet ready!??!? ??
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
polee Avatar
33 months ago
Please release these MacBooks soon. The MacBook Pro M1 has been one of the best I have used so far. I cannot wait to see these redesigned MacBook 14=inch and 16=inch MacBooks. More ports, probably better mics and speakers. I would most probably get one if it is not too pricey. However I thought it would be Mini LED and not OLED?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
827538 Avatar
33 months ago
I would love an OLED MacBook Pro, I wish they would make it 120Hz with VRR though. I've been using high refresh rate VSync/GSync displays for 5 years now and they are transformative, especially for gaming. VRR really helps out when the frame rate dips.

To all those saying OLED suffers from burn in, yes it does but modern OLEDs are remarkably good. Look at RTings testing on OLED displays and burn in. Dell somehow makes it work and work very well, I'm sure Apple can do the same. We have OLED phones, watches, TV's, and displays. The only device I'll use shortly that's not OLED will be my MacBook Pro.

Also microLED has burn in issues too. I wish people would stop holding it up as a paragon of perfection. It also has worse response times than OLED. You might not have the color burn in like OLED but you still have pixel burn in as the individual micro LED's still fade from use.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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