Report: Apple is beginning development on a 24-inch OLED iMac

Macworld

Just when you thought we were going to get through the year without a really juicy iMac rumor, in comes a report from Korean publication The Elec. According to its report, Apple has placed “Requests for Information” with Samsung Display and LG Display regarding OLED displays that could be used for a future iMac.

An RFI is basically when a company asks suppliers to provide specifications and other details about a part that the company needs for product development. According to The Elec, Apple has stated in its requests that it is looking for a 24-inch OLED display that offers 218 pixels per inch density and 600 nits of brightness. That’s the same size and density as the current LED-based iMac display, but with higher brightness.

However, there’s one big caveat that The Elec points out: “RGB OLED technology capable of reliably mass-producing 20- to 30-inch displays has not yet been developed.” Mass production has been for much smaller displays, so if Apple proceeds with an OLED iMac, suppliers need to develop a manufacturing process to create the displays, which will take some time.

The Elect reports that Apple could complete development of the OLED iMac by 2027 or 2028. If everything goes as scheduled, the OLED iMac would ship in 2027 at the earliest (if development finishes in the early part of the year). But more likely it would be available in 2028 or 2029. It’s also possible that Apple could decide to scrap the project during the development stage.

Apple has been gradually upgrading its devices from LED displays to OLED. Apple’s current iPhone lineup uses OLEDs. The iPad Pro is the only iPad with an OLED, but reports say that Apple has plans to bring it to the iPad mini and iPad Air in the next year or two. Reports have also said that Apple plans to release an OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro in the second half of 2026.

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