Apple confirms LED displays in Macs during 2007
There have been rumors of LED backlights coming to Macs for awhile now, but as usual Apple remains mum on future products. However, we did get a rare glimpse into the future of the Mac via Steve's open letter called 'A Greener Apple.' He discusses the use of arsenic and mercury in LCDs and mentions that Apple plans to ship the first Macs with LED backlights in 2007 (which use no mercury).
There you have it, straight from the Steve's mouth. The only question remains which Macs will get the LED love first.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe said 2:00PM on 5-02-2007
Damn. I thought I had beat TUAW on spotting that! Quick work, folks.
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arkowi said 4:29PM on 5-02-2007
Man, I hope this is like the "Year of HD"!!
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Jonathan Allen said 2:05PM on 5-02-2007
The ACD's are ready for an update. Maybe they'll upgrade the pro line first. (Don't they usually upgrade pros first with consumer 4-6 months later?)
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arkowi said 2:05PM on 5-02-2007
Also, i might add, that while you show the laptop line here, the first LED macs could very well be iMacs or Cinema Displays.
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avi said 2:23PM on 5-02-2007
What will this mean on the respective macbook's price? Any ideas?
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Ian said 2:29PM on 5-02-2007
So I had no idea what the difference between LCD and fluorescent backlit screens meant. Here's a short article I found that outlines the benefits of LCD usage:
http://www.audioholics.com/education/display-formats-technology/display-technologies-guide-lcd-plasma-dlp-lcos-d-ila-crt/display-technologies-guide-lcd-plasma-dlp-lcos-d-ila-crt-page-8
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Jon H said 2:41PM on 5-02-2007
If the LED backlights are immune to the fading brightness that fluorescents are stricken with, that'll be a great thing indeed.
Probably a lot easier to replace, too - no incredibly fragile tube to change.
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iamdigitalman said 2:59PM on 5-02-2007
LEDs do dim over time, but unless you overvolt them, they NEVER burn out. I should know, i've burned through several old LEDs doing this. overvolting them makes them burn brighter, but they last far less. With today's LED tech, that should be no problem. My PSP and cell phone already use LEDs, and in the case of my cell, it is actually BRIGHTER than the macbooks at the apple store.
I've always wanted to do some retrofitting on some of my older powerbooks.
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uros said 3:40PM on 5-02-2007
I'd think that the iMacs will be the first to recieve the treatment, since they're rumored to be redesigned soon and that would be welcome.
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Ed said 4:12PM on 5-02-2007
uros, I doubt it. I think we'll see either the new ultraportable or the MacBooks. The large LED backlights are still hugely expensive, so they're going to work up. That said, Apple could get a really good discount like they've done on memory before...
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scott said 4:52PM on 5-02-2007
I can almost guarantee that my display on my macbook will be broken about 6 months after the launch of this;)
thank you Applecare!!!
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Quix said 5:11PM on 5-02-2007
I think the MacBook Pros are the most likely candidate for the next total refresh, and being the pro line, I think makes them more likely to see LEDs before the consumer-level machines (MacBook and iMac).
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Halopend@gmail.com said 5:30PM on 5-02-2007
This is good news for me as I'm eagerly awaiting the next macbook upgrade to come out, and since it'll probably be out later in the year than sooner it'll almost certainly get the new screens.
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Mat Lu said 10:20PM on 5-02-2007
I think the most impressive thing about this is the confirmation that we'll actually be getting NEW Macs of any sort this year!
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Jon H said 2:51AM on 5-04-2007
" The large LED backlights are still hugely expensive, so they're going to work up."
I think that depends on how the LED backlight is implemented. If it's done where the LEDs simply replace the current CFL tube(s), it shouldn't be particularly expensive. In that case, the LEDs would line one or two sides of the LCD, with a white reflector to bounce the light out towards the viewer. That's basically all an LCD backlight is now - one or two long, thin fluorescent bulbs that sit beside the LCD, and a sheet of plastic behind the LCD.
The fancy, expensive LED backlight design is, IIRC, one where the LEDs are behind the LCD and shine their light towards the user, through the LCD. The most complex version of that uses LEDs that are individually dimmable, producing blacker blacks where the backlight is off (right now you get a dark grey from the backlight leaking through the black pixel). That also requires more, smaller LEDs as well, because to be most effective there should be a controllable LED backlight for each pixel in the LCD.
I can't see the simple 'rows of LEDs and a reflecting sheet' version being particularly difficult or expensive, assuming they can get white LEDs with an acceptable color temperature. The number of LEDs required would likely depend on whether they obtain even brightness by raising the number of LEDs, or by using some kind of diffusing lens on each.
In theory, given a bright enough LED, an efficient light pipe, and an efficient diffusor system that provide even distribution across the screen, they could probably use a *single* LED.
I would give Jobs my first born son if they shipped a MacBook Pro with an easily user-replaceable backlight LED and a user-replaceable hard drive.
(Okay, maybe not my son. But I have about 18 little baby emperor scorpions he could have.)
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