Apple Supplier Unveils 'Industry First' Tandem OLED Laptop Panel

OLED iPad Pro panel maker LG Display has begun mass producing the industry's first 13-inch tandem OLED panel designed for laptops, the Korean company announced this week.

lg display tandem oled laptop
LG Display supplies the majority of OLED panels for Apple's latest M4 ‌iPad Pro‌ models, which use a similar tandem structure. Tandem OLED panels combine two stacks of red, green, and blue (RGB) organic light emitting layers, which together offer better durability and performance compared to single-layer OLED panels such as the one used in Apple's iPhones.

LG has been developing the panels for the automotive industry since 2019, and says that efficiency gains mean they reduce power consumption by up to 40%, and enable up to three times the brightness. By designing the components and enhancing the structure of the 13-inch tandem OLED panel, LG Display says it has also been able to make it around 40% thinner and 28% lighter than existing OLED laptop screens, allowing for a sleek design and greater portability.

From LG Display's press release:

The new panel combines convenience and performance with high definition. It boasts a WQXGA+ (2880×1800) high resolution and accurate color expression that meets 100% of the DCI-P3 standard color area established by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), allowing high-definition content to be presented with increased clarity.

With OLED's characteristic self-emissive pixels and infinite contrast ratio, it has also been certified as Display HDR (High Dynamic Range) True Black 500 by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). This confirms its ability to show both bright and dark images so well that it enhances their three-dimensionality and produces a display quality that is as close as possible to what the human eye naturally sees.

There are currently no Macs with OLED displays. However, according to a November 2023 report by analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Technology Research, Apple is actively developing an OLED screen for the ‌MacBook Air‌, although the release of an OLED MacBook Pro is expected to come first.

An earlier report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claimed that a new ‌MacBook Pro‌ with an OLED display could be the first touchscreen Mac in 2025. Notably LG Display says that it has also embedded a touch sensor inside its latest tandem OLED panels to improve touch performance.

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Top Rated Comments

1369281 Avatar
10 months ago
If it uses PWM (pulse-width modulation, aka flickering) then I won’t be buying it. Apple needs to stop using PWM in their products because it gives many of their customers eyestrain, headaches, and nausea.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FloridaScrubJay Avatar
10 months ago
Really liking the tandem OLED display on my M4 iPad Pro!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
10 months ago

If it uses PWM (pulse-width modulation, aka flickering) then I won’t be buying it. Apple needs to stop using PWM in their products because it gives many of their customers eyestrain, headaches, and nausea.
Many or some?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pcd213 Avatar
10 months ago
The 2026 MacBook Pro, now starting at $2499
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
usmaak Avatar
10 months ago
The new M4 iPad is the first screen that I haven't been able to use since screens began, and I've been staring at screens since the 80s. There was just something about it that my eyes didn't like. It made my eyes burn and they got really tired after only staring at it for 15 minutes. I ended up returning it and going back to the M2. I was really looking forward to the M4 and the colors were so sharp on it but I couldn't justify spending the $$$ and hoping that my eyes would somehow adapt.

I hope that they keep some screens LCD. I ended up getting an M3 MBA and I've had no problems with it. I'm hoping that there's some new screen tech in the future that doesn't cause me eye issues. My work laptop is an M1 MBP and I can stare at it for hours with no eye issues.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuzzball84 Avatar
10 months ago

Strange how Apple want to be the first to new process nodes, but will take years rolling out new display technologies
Apple typically only incorporate technologies when they are satisfied they reached a certain maturity in order to deliver quality and reliability. Indeed since Apple transitioned to IPS LED LCD displays and OLED panels… they are amongst the best in the market.

Process nodes for the AS is an entirely different thing.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)