It has been widely rumored that a future iMac model would eventually transition from LCD to OLED display technology. The incoming update that’s expected to come out this fall will stick with LCD technology for now. However, it appears we’re getting more details on what this specific OLED display could potentially bring.
According to The Elec, LG Display is currently working on a five-layer OLED panel structure that could be destined for a future iMac. LG has offered several OLED standalone monitors for a while, and that is made possible thanks to the four-stack OLED panels that consist of layers that emit light in a blue-green-blue-red pattern. This five-stack implementation, which is set to build upon the current generation, will have a third blue layer for a blue-green-blue-red-blue arrangement.
Now you may be wondering? What’s with the multiple layers of OLED panels? As you may imagine, a single-stack OLED panel that would achieve exceptional brightness levels would work well on smaller devices such as smartwatches and smartphones, but when scaled up for larger devices such as tablets, laptops, and especially monitors or all-in-ones (in this case the iMac), larger OLED panels with that much brightness would draw more power, generating more heat and potentially increase risk of burn-in. That’s why Apple implemented the tandem OLED display on the current iPad Pro, which features two OLED panels stacked together to achieve comparable brightness levels that you’d expect for an OLED display. The upcoming, redesigned MacBook Pro could feature this same implementation.
That’s why having a five-layer OLED panel would be ideal for a future iMac, providing optimal brightness levels while maintaining the overall longevity of the display by preventing screen burn-in. The major downside: the higher production expenses. That’s why Samsung Display is also developing QD-OLED to achieve Apple’s higher standards for OLED display quality, so in the end, Apple could have more suppliers ready for mass production that would go towards the future iMac; however, we don’t expect that OLED iMac to make its debut no earlier than 2029.
Still, the future is already bright for Apple as the company has a huge roadmap to transition many of its products to use OLED displays, such as the iPad mini and the redesigned MacBook Pro.
