For several years it has been rumored that Apple is considering a change iPad Pro Tablets to OLED display technology, and the latest supply chain report says the first of these updated devices are due to arrive in 2024.
This is from ET news (opens in new tab) in South Korea (about MacRumors (opens in new tab)), which claims that development is now underway on an iPad with an OLED screen. The display departments of Samsung and LG are apparently the turn to provide the panels.
The current iPad Pro models feature Mini-LED-LCD technology: while this has a slightly higher upper limit in terms of maximum brightness compared to OLED, OLED cannot be beaten in terms of contrast and black depth.
Same sizes
According to the report, the 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes will remain the same when Apple makes the switch, so there won’t be an obvious difference in terms of the iPad Pro’s dimensions and form factors.
Apple has been using OLED technology for its iPhones for several years, but it’s more difficult and costly to produce the panels in larger sizes – so watch out for price fluctuations when it comes to the 2024 iPad Pros.
Previous leaks also had the launch date of an iPad Pro set sometime in 2024, so this fits in with that. OLED technology is also being worked on for Apple’s MacBook line, the report said, with the switch planned for 2026.
Analysis: room for improvement
Apple refreshed its premium line of tablets again last year, and in ours iPad Pro review We gave the device an almost perfect mark. It’s an impressive piece of hardware from almost every angle, and it’s hard to imagine how Apple will improve it in the future.
Faster internals are expected whenever we get a new iPad, but it could be argued that the iPad Pros have so much power that the average user will never push them to their limits.
Software updates are also always published regularly iPad OS 16.1 Adding the Stage Manager tool. However, these updates are independent of hardware considerations and appear on all types of iPads, new and old.
It seems Apple has decided that OLED technology is an upgrade it can invest in for the iPad Pros and maybe the standard iPad as well. Once that switch is made, there may really be nothing left to improve.
