The production of OLED iPad displays is rumored to have begun.
We’ve seen many rumors about an OLED iPad from Apple in the last few months. In the meantime, we’ll have to wait until 2024 for a tablet with this kind of screen, according to the latest report.
No word from the company on an OLED-equipped iPad, so the claim made by South Korean tech site ETNews(opens in new tab) that Apple has heard confirmation of an OLED iPad for 2024 is noteworthy.
However, you should proceed with caution, as we’ve heard similar reports before, including from ETNews itself, that this tablet will gain a slot among the top iPads now on the market.
OLED iPads were previously expected to arrive in 2022, but that now appears to be off the agenda. Of course, the current worldwide supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have delayed Apple’s plans to release such an iPad this year.
Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have also provided confirming evidence. Young predicts that Apple will release OLED MacBooks and iPads in 2024, but Kuo is more cautious, predicting that even if Apple does manage to bring an OLED MacBook to market in 2024, it will not release an OLED iPad until 2025.
Aside from that, ETNews’ report has an interesting tidbit. Reports indicate Apple is working on prototypes of an iPad OLED panel alongside Samsung and LG that employ a dry etching method instead of a wet one, which supposedly makes the display thinner and lighter.
This dry etching procedure makes the end product lighter and thinner, according to ETNews. We don’t know if the iPad OLED manufacturing process will include dry etching as an essential part of the process or if it will be an optional upgrade you can purchase for an additional fee (much as it offers nano-textured glass as an optional display upgrade on products like the Apple Studio Display).
OLED iPads: Outlook
Prototypes for an OLED-equipped iPad have been in the works for more than a year now, so it’s reasonable to believe Apple is nearing completion with its manufacturing partners.
It’s hard to assume Apple isn’t working on an OLED iPad right now, given the popularity of OLED screens on laptops and smartphones (including the iPhone, starting with the iPhone X), so it’s possible we’ll see an OLED iPad in 2024.