Technology1 min read

Apple’s new laptop supports one of the coolest features for color pros

By · Via The Verge · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The new $2,900 MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display incorporates Apple CMF 2026 color modes alongside touchscreen functionality and an OLED screen. This system modernizes display matching by correcting the shortcomings of the 1931 CIE standard on modern narrow-band screens like OLED and quantum dot panels. In addition to two new reference modes, the laptop features a 2,000-nit peak brightness display that can be calibrated through the Apple Pro Display Calibrator utility.

Key points

  • The updated color-matching functions compensate for human eye aging and biological vision…: The updated color-matching functions compensate for human eye aging and biological vision variations that older standards fail to address.
  • Creative professionals can fine-tune the screen using full instrument calibration or visu…: Creative professionals can fine-tune the screen using full instrument calibration or visual adjustments via the Apple Pro Display Calibrator.
  • An integrated True Tone setting dynamically modifies HDR tone mapping, white point, and p…: An integrated True Tone setting dynamically modifies HDR tone mapping, white point, and panel brightness based on ambient light conditions.

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The new MacBook Pro brings with it a bunch of firsts for Apple laptops, the two flashiest being an OLED display and touchscreen functionality. But as an image-accuracy enthusiast, trained calibrator, and resident display expert, what excites me most about the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is the technology it uses to display an accurate picture. It’s the first laptop, and only the second product overall, to support Apple CMF 2026 color modes. It could be the future for displays.

Apple’s new laptop supports one of the coolest features for color pros

CMFs, or color-matching functions, mathematically represent how we perceive color, and there are a few different variations. The specification that’s been the standard for years is CIE 1931 (CIE stands for Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage, or International Commission on Illumination). For nearly a century, CIE 1931 has been a reliable calibration target, and most of the reference modes on the new MacBook use it.

But with the development of new display technologies over the past 20 years that have ultra-narrow band spectra — such as OLED, LEDs…

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