Touchscreen MacBook Pro hands-on: OLED looks great on a Mac

Apple has introduced its first OLED MacBook Pro laptops, featuring a new display called PROLED XDR. This display is available in both 14-inch and 16-inch variants, with pre-orders now open for shipping starting November 6th. Notably, these laptops also mark Apple's first foray into touchscreen technology for Macs.

PROLED XDR is essentially a Tandem OLED panel, comprised of two layers of organic light-emitting diodes. This dual-layer design results in a significantly brighter display compared to single-layer OLED, as there are two OLEDs emitting light per pixel. Moreover, the reduced workload on each OLED layer contributes to enhanced longevity and a lower likelihood of burn-in.

Traditionally, Apple has avoided using OLED for its MacBook Pro displays. However, with the PROLED XDR, the company claims to have overcome the common limitations of OLED displays, such as low and variable brightness, off-axis color shift, and burn-in risks associated with displaying static interface elements.

Some key performance differences highlighted by Apple include a peak HDR brightness of up to 2,000 nits and a sustained fullscreen brightness of up to 1,000 nits. In comparison, the iPad Pro (2025) display offers a peak brightness of 1,600 nits and the same 1,000 nits of sustained brightness. This translates to a 25% increase in brightness on the MacBook Pro display.

The PROLED XDR display also boasts an impressive contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1, which is five times higher than the iPad Pro's 2,000,000:1 ratio. This increased contrast ratio is attributed to the lower minimum brightness that can be measured on the PROLED XDR screen, resulting in deeper blacks and a better overall visual experience.

Other notable features of the PROLED XDR display include a color gamut covering over 80% of the BT.2020 standard, indicating a likely full coverage of DCI-P3. These attributes make the MacBook Pro's PROLED XDR display particularly appealing for video professionals and mobile creatives.