MacBook Air OLED isn't coming any time soon, says report
Apple isn't expected to add an OLED screen to the MacBook Air until after 2027, according to a report
💻 Apple is rumored to add an OLED screen to the MacBook Air… eventually
📅 Previous rumors indicated it could arrive in 2027, but not anymore
💰 Apple is delaying its release due to production costs, according to a report
⚫️ OLED will give the laptop much deeper black levels and richer colors
It doesn’t look like the MacBook Air will be getting an OLED screen anytime soon. According to a new report from Korean outlet The Elec, Apple has delayed the release of its MacBook Air with OLED to sometime after 2027. The display will be a meaningful upgrade over the current LCD screen thanks to its deeper black levels and richer colors, but it seems as though we’ll have to wait a while for it to come.
This is the second MacBook Air delay we’ve heard about recently; it was widely assumed that the Air would get a new M4 chip to go along with the new MacBook Pro, but it now looks like that’ll happen in early 2025.
The OLED MacBook Air is gonna take some time
As for the rumored OLED MacBook Air, The Elec says that Apple is facing issues with its supply chain and the production costs associated with the OLED screen itself. The beauty of the MacBook Air is its affordable, at least compared to the rest of Apple’s MacBook line. The company isn’t interested in jacking up the price too much just for a pretty screen, so it’s working to iron things out before it commits to building one.
Putting OLED in a large-screen device hasn’t been as beneficial for Apple as some had predicted. The release of the OLED iPad Pro was followed by Apple’s projection of selling 10 million iPads in 2024, but that number has since fallen to around 6-7 million due to lower-than-expected demand. It doesn’t seem like the OLED screen drew customers in the way Apple wanted it to, which could also be influencing its decision to avoid putting the technology in the best-selling MacBook of all time.
When the OLED MacBook Air does ship, Apple is rumored to use a single-stack OLED configuration, unlike the 2026 OLED MacBook Pro which will use a dual-stack configuration. This will give the Pro twice as much brightness as the Air, which makes sense given its the more premium option.
Samsung Display is rumored to be working on the single-stack for the Air in a 13.3-inch size, but it’s unclear who will supply the 15-inch model (assuming Apple continues to offer one).
While it’s going to take a while for the MacBook Air OLED to come out, the M4 version of the machine is right around the corner. We expect to see a similar design, the same LCD displays, and the same macOS operating system infused with Apple Intelligence in the new model. Expect it to arrive sometime in the spring of 2025.
Max Buondonno is a writer at The Shortcut. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop.