Apple has big plans for the future of MacBook Pro displays. A new timeline from research firm Omdia reveals that Apple aims to transition the MacBook Pro from mini-LED to OLED displays as soon as 2026.
As part of this change, Apple reportedly plans to ditch the MacBook Pro’s notch cutout…
The roadmap shows that Apple plans to release 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with OLED displays between 2026 and 2027. The company will use hybrid OLED display technology similar to what was introduced on the iPad Pro this year. This corroborates reporting from earlier this year.
Notably, the roadmap also shows that the 2026/2027 revision to the MacBook Pro would also switch from a “rounded corner + notch cut” to a “rounded corner + hole cut” to house the device’s webcam.
Apple added a notch to the MacBook Pro’s display with its major refresh in 2021. The notch allows Apple to take most of the MacBook Pro’s display closer to the device’s edges, with the notch cutout itself being used for the webcam.
If this report turns out to be true, Apple will switch from a notch to a hole-punch cutout when the MacBook Pro switches from mini-LED to OLED in 2026 or 2027. This would increase the usable screen size of the MacBook Pro’s display. As MacRumors points out, it would also prevent the notch from cutting off the menu bar in macOS like it does today.
This rumor, however, doesn’t offer specifics on the design implementation of the new hole-punch cutout. One possibility is that the OLED MacBook Pro adopts a Dynamic Island design similar to the iPhone.
The roadmap from Ombid also outlines that the iPad mini could switch to OLED as soon as late 2026, while the iPad Air will switch around 2027. The MacBook Air is expected to switch to OLED in 2028 but will retain the notch design. Without any further details, the report says Apple is working on a foldable device of some sort with an OLED panel for release in 2028 or later.
Do you think Apple should replace the MacBook Pro’s notch with a hole-punch cutout for the webcam? Should Apple bring the Dynamic Island to the Mac? Let us know in the comments.
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