Potential Hidden Enhancement in the M4 MacBook Pro's Display Could Be Substantial
If the whispers are correct, the most recent MacBook Pro 14 and Pro 16 models could conceal a hidden enhancement. The new MacBooks apparently transitioned to quantum dot displays, a technology that most display manufacturers highly advertise on the packaging of their monitors and TVs incorporating it. If this information is accurate, Apple has yet to disclose the upgrade.
Display analyst Ross Young, the CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, expressed his confidence on Twitter late Thursday, claiming that the M4 MacBook Pro displays boast a quantum dot film that should significantly enhance the device's capacity to display a broader color spectrum compared to its previous versions.
Should you recall, the term is often associated with QD mini-LED TVs (commonly known as QLEDs) or even QD-OLED displays. Essentially, these dots are nanoparticles that expand the color gamut and brightness of a display. Young claimed that Apple opted for a red KSF phosphor film in the past, as it optimized efficiency. The film reportedly used now is devoid of toxic cadmium typically found in traditional QD displays, and it's more efficient than similar displays.
The latest MacBook Pro 14 and Pro 16 models with M4 chips appear to be minor modifications from their M3 and M2 counterparts. However, there were some enhancements. For instance, Gizmodo's tests confirmed that the screens indeed display better SDR brightness than before. This means you can work in the park without immediately seeking the shadiest spot. It remains unclear whether this improvement is due to the new film or another display advancement.
Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. If this information is correct, it's perplexing why Apple wouldn't publicize this fact in all of its promotional material. When the company launched its first OLED device, the M4 iPad Pro, it spent considerable time highlighting its tandem OLED design's brightness and color clarity. Apple still refers to these displays as Liquid Retina XDR, its own brand of mini-LED.
Young's graphs indicate that the new MacBook Pros have a more extensive color gamut than before, and he alleged that they also exhibit improved motion performance. Gizmodo has yet to conduct independent testing of either of those features. Notebookcheck, in its review of the M4 MacBook Pro 14, noted response times of roughly 70 ms, while the MacBook Pro 16 registered at slightly over 40 ms at peak brightness. Response times signify the screen's ability to transition from one color to another and could potentially result in images appearing blurred if the response time is slow. Apple has previously stated that Liquid Retina XDR supports a 5 ms response time.
Low response times would be most noticeable in games, though we did not observe excessive blurring during our tests with either the 14 or 16 models. It is not the ideal display for gaming, but the M4 and M4 Pro chips perform admirably even up to the full native resolution. For its latest displays, the company has only declared that it continues to use the wide color P3 color gamut with its typical ProMotion adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
We hope that Apple has improved its display more than it has publicly acknowledged. The MacBook Pro models are better than ever, but the annual release schedule has left little time for the Mac manufacturer to eliminate bothersome imperfections, such as the annoying notch cutout for the webcam. What adds to the confusion is that the latest rumors from the leading Apple rumormonger Mark Gurman recently suggested we may not see the highly anticipated OLED MacBook until 2026 at the earliest. This suggests that we might witness another MacBook update with only minor design modifications.
The new MacBook Pro models with Quantum Dot displays, like the one found in QD mini-LED TVs or QD-OLED displays, are expected to show a broader color spectrum than previous versions, thanks to the red KSF phosphor film Apple has implemented. In the future, Apple might integrate this technology more extensively, potentially including an OLED MacBook model as suggested by leading rumors.
