Apple Reportedly Planning 32- and 42-Inch OLED Displays for 2027 Amid Switch to New Panel Technology

Saturday April 22, 2023 2:03 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple will transition almost all of its iPad, MacBook, and external display models to OLED displays by 2027, according to technology research firm Omdia.

pro display xdr workflow
Omdia's latest IT ‌OLED‌ display forecasts, seen by OLEDInfo, claim that worldwide ‌OLED‌ shipments will rise rapidly from around 9.7 million units in 2022 to over 70 million in 2028. Most of this growth will be driven by laptops, but the number of ‌OLED‌ tablets will also increase sharply during this period.

The main contributor to this expected increase is said to be Apple's expanded use of ‌OLED‌ displays across its devices. In line with other rumors, Omdia believe that Apple will begin using ‌OLED‌ panels for the ‌iPad‌ starting with new iPad Pro models next year, followed by an ‌OLED‌ MacBook Pro in 2026. Apple will almost entirely phase out LCD and mini-LED displays on mobile devices by 2026. The report also mentions a foldable 20-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ model with an ‌OLED‌ around this time frame.

In 2027, Apple will apparently begin using QD-OLED or WOLED panels for 32-inch and 42-inch displays, likely for future iMac or external display models. The Pro Display XDR is Apple's only existing product with a 32-inch display and there is no currently 42-inch device.

Tags: OLED Guide, OLED iPad Pro, Omdia

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Top Rated Comments

macduke

46 months ago

If I have to wait until 2027 to get a decent Apple external display I’m gonna lose my mind. Also, really? We’re talking about 2027 rumors now?

Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Quu

46 months ago

I must admit I'm concerned about OLED on my Mac where the screen is left on for 7-8 hours a day while working.

It's acceptable on my iPhone and Watch because I just don't interact with them that much or leave them idle on a static screen. That's not the case with my computers.

I recently purchased an OLED desktop monitor last year and after a full day of work, it brought up a warning dialogue box that it needed to perform some kind of pixel refreshing to maintain the display and stop burn-in. (Asus PG42UQ).

I don't expect Apple to bring up such dialogues, but I do expect the computer to dim when it thinks you're not looking at the screen anymore like with the iPhone and for me I don't think that's acceptable.

I would much prefer they continue with MiniLED-based FALD backlighting since there's no risk of burn-in. They just need to increase the zone count vastly from the current 2,500 zones with 10,000 LED's to maybe 10,000 zones with 40,000 LED's.

Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)

LeeW

46 months ago

I better keep my kidneys in good shape and hope the price for them is high by the time these come out.

Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Quu

46 months ago

Were not talking about recent OLED tech here, but 2027 tech. Larger OLED displays matured drastically in the last couple of years. From 300 nits burn-in prone „prototypes you can buy“ to 1000+ nits mature products without any significant burn in issues (as long as you take a little bit of care). In another couple of years, burn-in might be a non-issue even when displaying static desktop elements for hours.

Actually, recent OLED's are more prone to burn-in than the earlier models according to recent testing from rtings.com just last month where they tested the latest LG WOLED and Samsung QD-OLED technology.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/samsung-qd-oled-burn-in-problem/

This could be due to the panel makers driving them harder with better peak and sustained brightness. I personally think OLED isn't the way forward and they should instead concentrate on making MicroLED production ready.

Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)