The MacBook Pro’s OLED display is nuts
Macworld ·
Macworld Apple’s new PROLED XDR display on the MacBook Pro isn’t just the best screen Apple has ever put in a laptop. It’s one of the greatest displays ever made. When we heard rumors of Apple putting a tandem OLED display in the MacBook Pro, we assumed it would be similar to the iPad Pro’s Ultra Retina XDR display: Wide color (P3) SDR brightness: 1000 nits max XDR brightness: 1000 nits max full screen, 1600 nits peak (HDR content only) 1 nit minimum brightness 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio Those are excellent specs, of course. The iPad Pro has one of the best displays ever put in a tablet , and surpasses the Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display in the non-touchscreen MacBook Pro, which is no slouch. They both have high-end features including ProMotion, True Tone, and 3K resolution, but the tandem OLED’s rich, deep colors, and uniform brightness is a clear standout. I would’ve been plenty happy with those specs. Anyone who’s used an M4 or M5 iPad Pro knows that Apple’s claims of it being the world’s most advanced display are pretty spot on. But the Ultra Retina XDR display in the MacBook Pro is on a whole other level. As Apple often does with new display technology, it’s published a white paper that describes each of the display’s features and specs, and summarizes the important technologies: PROLED XDR display on MacBook Pro comprises many innovative, Apple-designed components that are tightly integrated, combined with extremely precise factory calibration, to produce unparalleled front-of-screen performance in a pro laptop. The tandem OLED panel—two stacked electroluminescent-emitting layers—delivers an extraordinary 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, up to 2000 nits of peak brightness, and self-emissive pixels that eliminate the blooming and halo artifacts introduced by other display technologies. And the entire panel is driven by the display engine in M5 Pro and M5 Max, which continuously compensates every pixel in real time for content, usage, temperature, and ambient conditions. An industry-leading low-reflectivity panel design and antireflective coating on the cover glass minimize distracting reflections, and a rigid stiffener keeps the panel perfectly flat to maintain uniformity and prevent mechanical distortion. That’s very similar to the equivalent passage in the Studio Display XDR’s white paper . In fact, the PROLED XDR in the MacBook Pro is the only display other than the Studio Display XDR that supports Apple CMF 2026, the next generation of CIE 1931. Apple says CMF 2026 “more precisely aligns the appearance of the display with an ideal D65 illuminant—the standard reference for white—and significantly improves appearance matching across display technologies, which is important for workflows that use multiple displays side by side.” The only other display in the world that supports this color mode is the Studio Display XDR , which starts at $2,800 without a stand. Apple’s new PROLED XDR doesn’t have anywhere near the 5K resolution of the Studio Display (and doesn’t really need it), but it has the same sustained SDR and HDR brightness, color gamut, and an insane 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 10 times that of the Studio Display XDR. It also supports medical imaging with 16 reference modes (versus just 11 with the standard MacBook Pro), as well as a display calibrator to fine-tune performance. There’s a reason why Apple’s new MacBook Pro has such a lengthy name. OLED alone doesn’t do it justice. Neither does XDR. Apple has put an ultra high-end display that would cost thousands on its own inside a laptop for a relatively modest $400 premium. The new MacBook display raises the bar considerably for what a pro laptop can be. Oh, and you can also touch it.