MacBook Air OLED Display Delayed Until 2029, New Tech in 2027

The introduction of a MacBook Air with an OLED display has been delayed, with the new release timeline now set for 2029, instead of 2027 as initially expected. The delay follows…

By Hardik Dhamija

January 20, 2025

3 min read

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The introduction of a MacBook Air with an OLED display has been delayed, with the new release timeline now set for 2029, instead of 2027 as initially expected. The delay follows Apple witnessing weaker than expected sales for its iPad Pro models that are equipped with OLED panels, according to a report from Korean site The Elec.

Further, the company had hoped that an OLED display would give the iPad Pro a serious sales boost in molding, but the sales performance didn’t match that hope. Now, this is why Apple has opted to avoid taking the costly OLED tech to its MacBook Air series for the time being.

MacBook Air OLED Display Launch Delayed Until 2029, New Features Coming in 2027

The OLED display may be off the table for now, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be other display improvements on the MacBook Air in the meantime. According to the report, the 2027 MacBook Air models are going to adopt “oxide TFT” technology from Apple.

This upgrade aims to enhance the device’s color accuracy, contrast ratio, uniformity of display brightness, and power efficiency, leading to longer battery life. Though this technology is not as advanced as OLED, it still represents a meaningful improvement over the current display technology. Models of MacBook Pro with OLED displays remain on schedule for a release in the near future, with speculation about a launch as early as next year.

The new MacBook Air laptop computer is unveiled during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 6, 2022. Apple unveiled the most significant overhaul to its popular MacBook Air laptop in more than a decade, bringing a fresh design, new colors and a speedier M2 processor from its homegrown chip line. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Apple is also rumored to be announcing refreshed 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models powered by the new M4 chip in the next few months. While there will be performance and feature increase with these new MacBook Airs, an OLED display won’t be one of the upgrades. OLED won’t reach the MacBook Air until 2029, indicating that the company is clearly taking its time to hone its approach and make sure it no longer runs into issues when finally bringing OLED to its premium laptop lineup.