It's one thing for Apple to say the new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR has the best display on any laptop, and it's another for it to put its money where it's mouth is. During a briefing and demo the company showed us how the new MacBook Pro stacks up to a premium Windows laptop with a tandem OLED display in the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, which retails for $3,399 and is currently on sale for $2,699.
Apple put this machine up against the new 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED, which starts at $3,399. And the difference between these laptops was night and day. I was not able to take photos or videos, but I can tell you what I saw.
A great image from any angle
It took about 2 seconds to realize that the tandem OLED display on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is inferior to the PROLED XDR panel on the new MacBook Pro. And that's because the off-angle viewing is way better on Apple's laptop.
When viewing the same photo of a person in a tunnel head on, the two laptops were almost equal, but as soon as I moved to the side the MacBook Pro's image retained its quality while the colors shifted on the Lenovo. There was some definite yellowing.
Way better contrast
Additionally, the contrast from the MacBook Pro with PROLED is a lot higher. We're talking 10 million to 1 versus 1 million to 1. The visual difference?
When looking at a photo of a skyline, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i's image was brighter, but the sky was more washed out, and it was missing the perfect blacks from the new MacBook Pro. The city lights were also fuzzier and less distinct.
The brightest tandem OLED (with less glare)
The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR really showed off when Apple turned up the lights in the room. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i really struggled with presenting a clear image, and I could see myself in the screen.
Impressively, this was the new MacBook Pro without the nano texture display. There was some glare through Apple's laptop, but it was minimal.
The touch wobble test
Last but not least, Apple showed off the hinge on the MacBook Pro with PROLED, which was designed to have more resistance versus other laptops. As the rep reached out and touched the display with the camera app running, there was less bounce.
By comparison, when touching the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i's screen, the screen wobbled a lot to the point that the camera view looked like we were experiencing an earthquake.
Outlook
The MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR looks like it could live up to Apple's claim of being the best laptop display ever, but we won't know for sure until we get it into our lab and run our wide range of tests, including brightness, color reproduction and color accuracy.
But based on the is admittedly handpicked demo by Apple of the new MacBook Pro versus a comparably priced tandem OLED Windows competitor — and my 25+ years of reviewing laptops — this new screen is legit.
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