Ross Young has offered up a fresh insight into the new MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 with Apple M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max chipsets. Officially, Apple has not changed the underlying mini-LED panels of either new machine. It now offers nano-texture display finish options on both sizes though, albeit as an optional surcharge.
For reference, Apple claims that only nano-texture displays benefit from higher peak brightness values. Specifically, it quotes 1,000 nits peak brightness for nano-texture displays, compared to 600 nits for regular displays on both the MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 (curr. $1,654 on Amazon).
According to Young, Apple M4 generation machines are Apple's first to utilise Quantum Dot technology. Until now, Apple has relied upon KSF phosphor films. Allegedly, this is because these films have been more efficient and lacked Cadmium, an element that is heavily restricted in the European Union and other markets.
However, new Cadmium-free Quantum Dot films are said to be more efficient than their predecessors. Reportedly, Quantum Dot films provide superior motion clarity and colour reproduction than their KSF counterparts, which would explain their adoption. Ultimately, we only noted marginal colour space and response time drops in our recent MacBook Pro 14 reviews. Based on recent rumours, Apple will hold off on releasing full MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 redesigns for at least two more generations.