The newiPhone 16eis here , and it ’s the biggest revamp in the history of Apple ’s affordable iPhone crease . With Face ID security , an A18 micro chip and USB - nose candy connectivity , it ’s an overhaul that touches almost every part of the machine .

Perhaps the most momentous change , though , is the introduction of a large , 6.1 - inch OLED display . This is the first prison term the now - renamed iPhone SE has had an all - CRT screen front face , and it ’s also the first time it ’s been instill withOLED technology .

Yet the inclusion of OLED highlights something significant : the deficiency of OLED in any of Apple’sbest MacBooks .

That ’s downright frustrating . To me , it feels like it really say something that Apple ’s cheapest , most budget iPhone is mystify an OLED CRT screen before a single MacBook has one . you could give $ 599 for an iPhone 16e and get an OLED panel , but you could compensate $ 1,599 for a MacBook Pro and go without . That just does n’t feel right .

Granted , you ’re getting a much smaller organic light-emitting diode CRT screen in the iPhone 16e , but that ’s beside the spot . The point is that by bring in OLED to its most affordable headphone but not to its otherwise class - leading laptop computer , Apple has inadvertently highlight a cardinal arena where MacBooks are falling behind the competition . And with the newMacBook Air(just weeks forth at this point ) expected to forgo an OLED screen , the gap is only rifle to extend .

A long wait ahead

What ’s the current situation ? At the here and now , the MacBook Pro usesmini - LEDtechnology in its projection screen . Sure , it ’s not OLED , but absolutely howling disregarding . When we reviewed theM4 Pro MacBook Pro , we commended its showing , saying “ It ’s incredibly bright , and the nano - texture show is the everlasting balance of drive home clearness while deflecting limelight . ”

Yet we also note that “ the mini - moderate panel will just never reach the highs of organic light-emitting diode , especially in terminal figure of people of color saturation , truth , and contrast . ” Mini - LED has been carrying Apple severely while it works on OLED MacBooks , but how much longer will that be the case ? Now , as Apple ’s competition bring ever - amend OLED panels to their laptops , it ’s becoming increasingly manifest that MacBooks ’ missing OLED screens are the elephant in the room .

The good intelligence is that we know Apple is working on anOLED MacBook Proand anOLED MacBook Air , so Apple fan wo n’t be without OLED Macs for ever . The bad news is that they wo n’t be arrive any time soon , with the MacBook Pro expected in 2027 and the MacBook Air not likely to make an appearanceuntil 2029 . That means no OLED display in this year’sM4 MacBook Air .

What ’s the hold up ? Well , Apple tries to hone engineering science before it releases it , rather than just pushing something out the doorway as fast as potential and before it ’s quick . Often , that work well — witness theOLED iPad Proand itstandem OLED displaythat is miles good than the contention , even though OLED tablets had existed for year .

But sometimes that philosophy come back to bite Apple . It ’s all very well aspire for the “ world ’s best ” headlines rather than those screaming “ human beings ’s first , ” but it ’s unvoiced to be full when your challenger have had a days - longsighted head start on you .

Ultimately , we ’re hold out to have to be patient , and as luck would have it for us the MacBook Pro ’s mini - LED display is already awful . But with a MacBook Air launching imminently without an OLED screen — and an affordable iPhone 16e launching with one — the air pressure is mounting on Apple . The postponement for OLED MacBooks is going to experience almost unbearable .