If you’ve been eyeing an iMac upgrade, you might want to take it easy because one of the biggest updates won’t be available any time soon.
According to a new report from ZDNet Korea, Apple is actively working with display vendors to add OLED panels to the iMac, and when it actually launches, it could be the largest OLED display the company has ever shipped in a device.
What exactly does Apple require?
The Cupertino giant has reportedly contacted Samsung Display, LG Display and a few other panel manufacturers. Why? Well, for sourcing 24-inch OLED samples with a target peak brightness of 600 nits and a resolution of around 218 PPI (which is theoretically an upgrade from the current iMac LCD panel).
Of all the providers, Samsung is likely to act first, as the company does not want to miss out on a major order from Apple. The Korean display maker plans to produce 220 PPI samples on its large-format Quantum Dot OLED (QD-OLED) production lines.
For those catching up, the projected resolution is significantly higher than Samsung’s 160 PPI QD-OLED external monitor panels. Sample shipments could arrive at Apple headquarters by the second half of 2026.
LG Display is now also in the running, even if its models may lag behind in brightness due to a different panel design. Still, the company is reportedly developing an advanced five-stack design as well as a next-generation technology called eLEAP that could close the gap.
So when will OLED iMacs actually come onto the market?
Here’s the not so exciting part. Apple is reportedly targeting a 2029 or 2030 launch for its OLED iMac. That’s in about three and a half to four years, a few years after the touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro is rumored to hit the market.
For now, the current 24-inch device is due for a more modest M5 chip refresh. So yes, an upswing for Apple’s desktop computers is coming, but not for a few years.
