LG Display who currently a major supplier of OLED panels to the likes of Apple, Samsung and a multitude of third-party display manufacturers are facing a questionable future as brands move to new LED Quantum dot technology manufactured by the likes of TCL and BOE in China.
The new MacBook Pro with the upgraded M4 processor is the first Apple product to feature a Quantum Dot LCD panel.
Insiders are claiming that Apple who in the past have been a major buyer of OLED panels from LG and Samsung will adopt Quantum Dot display technology in the next version of the Pro Display, with Apple R&D executives happy with the quality that QLED delivers.
Also contributing to the move in display technology acquisition is cost with QLED and MicroLED now being seen as being as good as OLED with QLED technology believed to be 40% less that an OLED panel from LG.
Insiders claim that the new MacBook Pro uses an LCD panel with both a miniLED backlight and a quantum dot film, instead of phosphor, to improve the colour gamut – similar to TCL, Samsung and Hisense TVs that are proving popular at Australian TV retailers.
The change in direction by Apple who had initially started moving to OLED was discovered by market research firm DSCC.
– “DSCC discovered that that the new Apple M4 MacBook Pros are the company’s first products to use quantum dots,” said Ross Young, co-founder, and CEO of DSCC.
The refinement of the aging LCD panel in Apple’s product raises questions of whether Apple who initially was going to use OLED in MacBooks in 2026 will stay with OLED.
Another problem for LG Display is the emergence of OLED production in China that is cheaper than what LG Display have manufactured OLED panels for in the past.
Apple has used OLED in iPhones and Apple Watches for years, but the facilities required for mass production of medium-sized OLED panels are only now coming online.
Apple recently introduced tandem OLED in iPad Pro and was expected to switch to OLED in iPad Air in 2026, followed by iPad mini and MacBook Air in 2027.
