“A forthcoming update to Apple’s MacBook Pro line will usher in a generation of more vibrant and uniformly-colored notebook displays thanks to some new underlying backlight technology,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider.
“Confirming an earlier but widely discounted report from Taiwan-based DigiTimes, faithful industry sources say the new pro-oriented systems will mark the start of a gradual transition away from cold cathode fluorescent backlights (CCFLs) and towards LED backlights for the Mac maker,” Jade reports. “Thus far, those sources say Apple has agreed to implement the LED technology only within a revision to its 15-inch MacBook Pro due sometime in the second quarter of this year. A broader expansion to the 17-inch model and across the company’s 13-inch consumer line, though inevitable, reportedly remains under consideration.”
Jade reports, “While pricer than CCFLs, LED technology is more efficient at distributing lighting evenly across the entire display surface and offers an increase in color saturation. According to a white paper from Cree, a backlight solutions provider expected to provide its LED technology to Apple, LED-based backlights also consume less power, run cooler, and last longer than CCFLs.”
“For end users, the new technology translates into improved notebook battery life and displays that will maintain their initial levels of brightness longer into their respective life-cycles. Come this spring, LED-lit displays will also deliver a more vivid canvas for the various software user interface enhancements and animation techniques that will be included with Mac OS X Leopard,” Jade reports.
Full article here.
Related article:
Report: Apple to launch LED-based notebooks – January 03, 2007
So, the Macbook Pros will have this and the Macbooks will have the LCDs? Sounds good to me.
Totally enjoy my 15″ MacBook Pro (2nd generation). Very glad I got it when I did. No problem with any future devices. This computer just works!
They are all still “LCD” screen. What’s different is the way they are backlit.
Once again, Apple leads the way with a new technology or design implementation in laptop computers.
This will be great. No fading of brightness. Reduced unevenness in brightness. Longer battery life. What took so long for this technology to become available for this purpose.
Beautiful. I can’t wait to see the upgrade.
Good news i will start saving now
The LED’s were not available at an economic price in sufficient quanity. This is cutting edge stuff.
So the LCD displays last longer for notebooks versus CCFL displays? Who cares? If you replace your notebook every 4 to 5 years, will it really matter that the LCD displays could last for 7 or 8 years? The only real advantage for LCD technology would have to be a savings in power usage, better color, and more uniform brightness. Is this technology transferable to the cinema displays and is it also economical to use LCD for cinema displays?
All LCD displays need backlighting. Present backlighting systems need high voltage to operate flourescent lighting. The necessary transformer/ballast produces heat and consumes large amounts of energy. LED backlighting would be applicable to all LCD screens.
> If you replace your notebook every 4 to 5 years, will it really matter that the LCD displays could last for 7 or 8 years?
Except that the dimming starts almost immediately. It may not be noticeable for the user because the change is gradual, but if you compare a new display to one that is one year old (at the brightest setting), the difference is apparent. Plus the bright white color of the CCFL bulb changes in some cases.
> The only real advantage for LCD technology would have to be a savings in power usage, better color, and more uniform brightness.
That’s THREE advantages; isn’t that (plus longer lasting) enough to make this a “big deal”???
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great, I just learned how to spell LCD and now I have to learn how to spell LED? Ok. It’s almost like a backwards Dell, which is already backwards…
I used to be an investor in Cree so I know a little about them. They are the leaders in LED technology, and Apple is partnered up with the right folks. Their stock is volatile though, but if LED lighting for the home ever takes off, they could do very well. Their main problem has been getting cost down. Maybe this is a sign they’re getting closer on that front.
Cree’s Web site includes a picture of two iPods, presumably to illustrate the use of their chips for backlighting computer and handheld LCDs. So perhaps their Xbright Power Chip LEDs are already being used in some of the more recent iPods.
“Once again, Apple leads the way with a new technology or design implementation in laptop computers. “
Sony, HP and Toshiba will ship models with LED backlight before Apple. But I forgot, to Mac fanboys, technology doesnt exist until Apple ships it.
Maybe a new graphic card? ATI announced the new X1900, way better then the X1600…
Luxeon LEDs from Lumileds are the best LEDs for the home. I think there are 1 watt, 3 watt, 5 watt, and 7 watt versions out there. I have LED flashlights from Arc Flashlight, Inova, and Surefire and they are way brighter, cooler, and longer running than regular incandescent flashlights. LED is the future that’s here now, baby!
Would one suspect that we may not see new displays (long overdue at this point) until this is in them?
UberMacUserFanboy –
” But I forgot, to Mac fanboys, technology doesnt exist until Apple ships it.”
That’s okay, to most windows apologist, technology doesnt exist until Dell ships it.
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LED’s sound great. Most windows box makers can just slap them in and stick them on the shelf.
Apple has to me more careful. Unlike most Windows users, many of us Mac users depend on critical color, contrast, and brightness being just right for us to make a living. If Apple gets it wrong, too many of us customers will be screaming.
PhotoShop, Aperture, Final Cut, Soundslides user. (Photo Mechanic is cool too)
To Oops, Who do you think will be handling the commercial lighting as far as manufacturing? I will be putting some stocks behind one of these companies but I’m not sure who at the moment.
Looks like the very long awaited update to the Apples Large Panel LCD will finally come, The mini one that took place last year was certainly not what many of us were looking for. One thing that does concern me though is the refresh rates, The more common LED’s that we see as christmas lights are slow (60 htz) but partially this is because their on off time is very quick, there is no smearing. If they can give us first gen units above 100 htz they will be accepted by the gaming and video production crowd.
The Other Steve.. have you tried the slide show maker at http://www.verticalmoon.com/
It’s slow but quite powerfull.
@ The Other Steve –
Totally agree. I depend on Photoshop and Aperture for a good part of my living, and color/contrast accuracy is completely necessary.
So far, the MBP’s screens have been accurate and bright enough. They’sve gotten quite a bit brighter since the Intel transition, and the glossy screen makes a huge difference.
I just hope that the new LCD’s are up-to-snuff…I do doubt that Apple would come up with crap though. I’ll wait for a handful of reviews before considering switching to an LCD.
NEC and a handful of other display makers have been showing off LED-backlit prototypes at the company where I work for a couple of years now.
They are *really* impressive, but so far the cost has been to high to adopt. Come down a bit more, and you’ll start to see products hit the market, and they will make current displays look pretty dingy.
Snapper, I haven’t kept up much with Cree over the past few years, but when I was up to speed on them, they were more of a tehcnology vendor than an end-user manufacturer. For all I know, the general public may never hear about Cree, but their technology may be licensed by a number of manufacturers. Of course, they may be making their own stuff now, I don’t know. But the main thing is in developing the technology in terms of brightness, form factor, longevity, and cost.
Sony has already had a LED backlit screen in the SZ 260 (I think that is the right model, whichever one is in the carbon fiber body) for about the last eight months. I not really that impressed with it. If anything, it is less uniform with brightness as the edges are noticeably brighter.
This can mean only two things: Either LED backlit screens need more development or Sony’s implementation sucks. When Apple release’s their screens, we will which is true.
> Sony, HP and Toshiba will ship models with LED backlight before Apple.
“Will” is the key word there. Get back to me when they actually ship it before Apple. Otherwise, you’re just a Windows apologist.
“Get back to me when they actually ship it before Apple.”
As the man says Sony shipped already.
But don’t worry, Steve’s going to invent this technology soon, and you as an Apple user will be able to believe that you’re the first on the planet to get it.
PS Since Sony hardware is OS neutral, surely that would make me a Sony apologist or an HP apologist rather than a Windows apologist?
Either that or I’m just a guy who understands tech better then you. You seem to be the kind of guy who gooos and gaaas each time Apple releases something without realizing that it’s not unique to them.