Apple is exploring a 13.8-inch OLED MacBook — a screen size new to its laptop lineup — according to industry sources, who say the company has sent a Request for Information (RFI) on the panel to Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE.

What the RFI signals matters more than the rumored product. It is the supply-chain equivalent of Apple thinking out loud: gathering technical information on a screen size that doesn't yet exist in its range, years before anything could ship. Read that way, the document says less about a 2029 laptop than about Apple's stalled effort to push OLED down its Mac line — and a quiet search for a cheaper way to do it.

What an RFI Actually Is

An RFI is an early-stage document a set maker like Apple sends suppliers to gather technical information before finalizing specs and issuing a Request for Quotation. As such, the project is preliminary: one source said a 13.8-inch product tied to the recent RFI could launch around 2029, but that it is still at a very early stage and could be shelved depending on development and demand. Apple typically allows two to three years to develop a finished product.

The Curious Size

The size is the intriguing part, since 13.8 inches doesn't exist in Apple's current MacBook range — the Pro at 14.2 and 16.2 inches, the Air at 13.6 and 15.3 inches, and the entry-level 13.0-inch MacBook Neo, an LCD model Apple introduced this year. Industry watchers offer two readings: either a new mid-tier model slotted between the Pro (which gets OLED for the first time this year) and the Air (whose OLED switch has slipped), or simply the Air's 13.6-inch screen growing by 0.2 inches. Either way, there is consensus that the 13.8-inch panel would be lower-spec than this year's OLED MacBook Pro — and that "lower-spec" is the whole point.

Why the Panel Choices Are Really a Cost Dial

An OLED's quality and price are set largely by two engineering choices, and the 13.8-inch panel turns both toward cost. The first is how many light-emitting layers it stacks. This year's OLED MacBook Pro panel — supplied by Samsung Display — uses a two-stack tandem RGB structure, two emitting layers that roughly double brightness and lifespan but cost more, along with hybrid OLED construction (a glass substrate with thin-film encapsulation to seal out moisture) and an oxide thin-film-transistor (TFT) backplane. The 13.8-inch panel, by contrast, may use a single-stack OLED — one emitting layer, trading some brightness and longevity for a lower price.

The second choice is the backplane, the transistor grid that drives each pixel. Options run from LTPS (cheaper, but weaker at saving power) to LTPO (which blends LTPS with oxide transistors to enable variable refresh rates and lower power, the smartphone standard) to the oxide and emerging high-mobility oxide (HMO) that Apple increasingly favors for battery life. The 13.8-inch panel's TFT type would depend on how far Apple's preferred HMO technology has matured. Each rung down that ladder is a trade of spec for price — which is exactly the lever Apple needs to pull to get OLED below the Pro.

Three Suppliers, Three Bets

The three suppliers come at it differently, each having built its production lines around a different wager on what Apple will choose. Samsung Display built its 8.6th-generation A6 line for oxide TFTs and plans to add LTPO capability; BOE, weaker in oxide TFTs, configured its 8.6th-generation B16 line for LTPO from the start; and LG Display, which lacks an 8.6th-generation IT line, can make LTPO panels on the sixth-generation line it uses for iPad OLEDs. The RFI effectively asks all three to show which of those recipes can deliver the size and spec Apple wants at the price it needs.

An Uneven Rollout, Stalled on Price

The timing reflects Apple's gradual, and uneven, OLED rollout. Samsung Display plans to begin mass-production shipments of MacBook Pro OLED panels from its A6 line around next month, having reportedly cleared yields above 90%. BOE held a B16 mass-production ceremony last month but is focused for now on 14-inch OLEDs for legacy Lenovo and Taiwanese-brand models. Apple had originally planned an OLED MacBook Pro in 2026 and an OLED MacBook Air around 2027, but pushed the Air to roughly 2029 after the OLED iPad Pro — which debuted the two-stack tandem and hybrid OLED technologies in 2024 — sold poorly because of its high price, with expectations still muted in its third year.

That history is the subtext of the whole RFI. The OLED transition that was supposed to sweep across the Mac has been gated by one thing — cost — and a lower-spec 13.8-inch panel is one way Apple might finally get under it. Whether that produces a shipping MacBook in 2029 or simply better intelligence on what the suppliers can build, the document is a snapshot of Apple trying to make OLED cheap enough to spread.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Apple making a 13.8-inch OLED MacBook?

Not yet — and maybe not at all. According to industry sources, Apple has sent a Request for Information (RFI) to Samsung Display, LG Display, and BOE about a 13.8-inch OLED MacBook panel, a screen size not currently in its lineup. An RFI is an early, exploratory step, and one source said any resulting product could launch around 2029 but is at a very early stage and could be shelved depending on development and demand. It signals exploration, not a confirmed product.

What is an RFI in manufacturing?

A Request for Information (RFI) is an early-stage document a company like Apple sends to potential suppliers to gather technical details and assess feasibility before it finalizes specifications. It comes before a Request for Quotation (RFQ), where suppliers actually bid to produce a defined part. Because an RFI is about information-gathering rather than ordering, it indicates a product is being explored, not committed to — Apple typically takes two to three years to develop a finished product after such early steps.

What is tandem OLED, and how does it differ from single-stack?

A tandem (or two-stack) OLED uses two light-emitting layers instead of one, which roughly doubles brightness and extends the display's lifespan — but it costs more to make. This year's OLED MacBook Pro uses a two-stack tandem structure. A single-stack OLED uses one emitting layer, trading some brightness and longevity for a lower cost. Reports suggest the cheaper 13.8-inch panel may use a single-stack design, consistent with it being positioned below the OLED MacBook Pro.

When will the OLED MacBook Air launch?

Apple originally aimed to bring OLED to the MacBook Air around 2027, but the timeline reportedly slipped to roughly 2029. The main reason is cost: large, high-quality OLED panels remain expensive, and Apple's OLED iPad Pro, which introduced tandem and hybrid OLED technology in 2024, sold poorly because of its high price. That experience has made Apple cautious about bringing OLED to its higher-volume, more price-sensitive products like the Air, which is part of the backdrop for exploring a cheaper, lower-spec OLED panel.