It was long rumored that Apple would release the first MacBook Pro models with OLED displays next year, but that timeframe is a little less certain now.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said he expects the MacBook Pro to gain an OLED display “between the end of 2026 and early 2027.”
Compared to current MacBook Pro models with LCD screens, benefits of OLED technology could include increased brightness (if the MacBook Pro gets an Ultra Retina XDR display with tandem OLED technology, like the latest iPad Pro), higher contrast ratio with deeper blacks, improved power efficiency for longer battery life, and more.
Gurman was previously more firm about a 2026 launch, which he still thinks might happen, but he now thinks early 2027 is a possibility too.
In a wide-ranging report about future Apple devices last month, Gurman said that Apple was considering pushing back the release of the next MacBook Pro models with the M5 series of chips until 2026, which is likely why he is now mentioning that the subsequent MacBook Pro models with OLED displays might be slightly pushed back too.
On the other hand, there is precedent for the MacBook Pro being updated twice in a year. Apple released models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in January 2023, followed by models with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips in October 2023. So maybe we get the M5 generation in January 2026, and the M6 generation in October 2026.
In any case, we recommend skipping the next-generation MacBook Pro models with the M5 series of chips if you can wait, as the subsequent models with the M6 series of chips are expected to feature more significant changes, including an OLED display, a thinner design, and a smaller notch. Just know that wait might stretch into early 2027.
