Apple quietly gave the M4 MacBook Pro a quantum dot display

M4 MacBook Pro reviews mostly endorsed my own opinion that while the machine would be a great purchase for Intel MBP owners, there is no compelling reason for any M series user to upgrade.

However, it turns out that Apple has quietly given the latest MacBook Pro a new display technology, which offers two benefits…

MacBook screen technology

MacBook screens still use IPS LCD screens, although of a much higher quality than those on most laptops.

Apple describes them with the term miniLED – a reference to the greatly improved backlight where many more smaller LEDs enable much greater local brightness and dimming of the screen.

This way, although the underlying technology is unchanged from previous models, there is a notable improvement in brightness and contrast.

M4 MacBook Pro has received a screen upgrade

Previous M-Series MacBook Pro models used a red KSF phosphor film to ensure that the miniLED backlight produced a wider range of colors than would normally be possible.

This film is also very efficient, but there is an even better film available known as quantum dot. Display analyst Ross Young reports that Apple quietly introduced this on the M4 MacBook Pro.

Big Apple shows news: they have adopted quantum dots for the first time. The latest MacBook Pros (M4) use a quantum dot (QD) film instead of a red KSF phosphor film.

Young says this gives the latest models two advantages over earlier models.

Better color gamut and better motion performance.

A commentator said tests confirmed the faster response rate.

The pixel response is quite clearly significantly faster when looking at TestUFO motion tests side by side, you can go to the Apple Store and run testufo.com vs. M1. The M4 LCD screen is noticeably faster.

Apple had good reasons to wait

The reason the company hadn’t done this sooner, Young says, is due to a combination of relatively poor efficiency and the fact that earlier generations of QD contained cadmium.

In the past, Apple chose the KSF solution due to better efficiency and lack of cadmium (Cd)

Apple commented don’t want to use cadmium already in 2015.

The World Health Organization classifies the element as a human carcinogenand a particular hazard is the recycling or disposal of electronics containing the metal.

Cadmium has toxic effects on the kidneys, skeleton and respiratory tract. It is classified as a human carcinogen. It is generally present in low concentrations in the environment; However, human activity has greatly increased levels in environmental media relevant to population exposure. Exposures that may be of particular concern to children include the disposal and recycling of electronic and electrical waste.

Photo: Apple