Since its release this month, the new MacBook Pro M4 has steadily established itself as one of the best laptops you can buy. Apple has made much of the improvements brought by the M4 processor and its glare-reducing nanotextured display, but there appears to be another major improvement that the company did not mention.

As 9to5Mac discovered, display analyst Ross Young claims that Apple is the first to include quantum dots inside a laptop display. Previous MacBook Pros used red KSF phosphor films on miniLED panels, but the switch to quantum dot technology is significant because it means the new screen panels will feature “an equal or better color gamut and superior motion performance.”

Faster response times were verified by Blur Busters' display motion testers, who responded that the M4 MacBook Pro certainly seems “significantly faster” than the three previous generations of Apple silicon era.

“Looking at the TestUFO motion tests side-by-side, the pixel response is quite clearly faster. The M4LCD is clearly faster.”

Two big “whys” emerge from this. Why did Apple switch to quantum dot technology now? And why didn't Apple make a big deal about it, even though they supposedly made the switch?

Regarding the former, Young's post offers one explanation: the KSF solution is not only more efficient, but also contains no cadmium, a human carcinogen. The World Health Organization (WHO) explains that cadmium can have toxic effects on the kidneys, skeleton, and respiratory system, which is why the company wants to keep it out of e-waste (Apple's policy for at least nine years now).

Currently, quantum dot displays also contain no cadmium, so Apple can safely make the switch. But why doesn't Apple shout about this? This is all speculation, but there are several possibilities.

The first is that it is not a universal upgrade and may only exist for certain configurations of the M4 MacBook Pro. If so, it would be best not to emphasize it at all until it is truly available to everyone, so that people don't feel short-changed if their version has older technology.

Another possibility is that Apple has decided that the improvements offered are a bit too niche and geeky to shout about in marketing. While “faster performance and reduced reflection” is easy to sell to casual users, by contrast, pixel response is far more esoteric. There's a reason Apple talks about ProMotion instead of 120Hz displays on the iPhone.

And this brings us to the last point: Apple often avoids elaborating on the details of the overall specifications. We only know about the iPhone's battery capacity from teardowns, not through official communication channels.

Whatever the reason, the switch to quantum dots is a positive move and should come as a pleasant surprise to buyers of the best laptops MacBook power users can afford. As our global editor-in-chief Mark Spooner wrote in his four-and-a-half-star review: “The M4 MacBook Pro is a laptop I would buy with my own money; the M4 MacBook Pro is a laptop I would buy with my own money; the M4 MacBook Pro is a laptop I would buy with my own money; and the M4 MacBook Pro is a laptop I would buy with my own money.