Samsung has recently began development of OLED panels meant to be adopted for a 13-inch MacBook Air, reads a machine-translated article from The Elec.
The article explains that Samsung is engineering MacBook Air OLED panels as some sort of a test run, before moving on to develop higher-end OLED panels to be equipped on the MacBook Pro lineup. OLED MacBook Pros are expected to debut sometime after OLED-ready iPad Pros launch in early 2024, reads the article.
LG’s OLED production capacity is reportedly full as the company is currently taking majority of orders for the expected 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pros. Samsung is only taking orders for the 11-inch model, adds the article, and so it has available capacity to take on a MacBook Air-appropriate OLED panel production.
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The article explains that both LG and Samsung are currently using sixth-generation OLED technology to fulfill Apple supply orders. Potential OLED MacBook Pros are highly likely to use a more advanced eighth-generation OLED stack.
The article was less clear on when an eventual OLED MacBook Air would be available to consumers. It explains that Apple typically oversees product development for two years before actual mass production commences, but a timeline for an OLED MacBook Air is uncertain at this point.
Despite The Elec‘s claims, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has tweeted last year that Apple’s first OLED MacBook – presumably the Air – is planned to launch in 2024 at the earliest.
Apple was reportedly planning an OLED iPad Air before cancelling its plans. Development of a 10.9 inch OLED iPad Air was abandoned nearly two years ago, as Apple had concerns regarding the single-stack display cost and and quantity. The company now sees OLED displays as a differentiating feature more appropriate for its premium iPad Pros.
Apple plans for its high-end OLED iPad Pros and MacBook Pros to use a hybrid OLED manufacturing method that incorporates thin film encapsulation (TFE) to a glass substrate. In addition, the panels will also feature a two-stack design resulting in a brighter, longer-lasting displays. However, OLED MacBook Air is expected to stick with the cheaper single-stack display design.
