2024 iPad Pro Models Likely to Debut Thinner Hybrid OLED Panel Tech

[MacRumors]

Apple is set to benefit from new OLED panel etching technology being developed by LG that will allow for slimmer devices while lowering production costs, according to Korea's The Elec.

The new hybrid technology reportedly combines rigid OLED glass substrates with flexible OLED thin-film encapsulation (TFE), making the panels thinner than rigid OLED panels. The process also incurs lower production costs than flexible OLED panels because it doesn't require a backlighting layer.

Conventional rigid OLED panels use two glass substrates, but in a hybrid OLED panel the top glass substrate is replaced with TFE. This makes the panel thinner, while the remaining bottom glass substrate is etched even thinner from 0.5mm to 0.2mm.

The resulting "ultra-thin glass" is more vulnerable to breaking while being moved to the next process in the production line, therefore LG is developing a simultaneous etch-and-cut process to mitigate risk.

Reference to the hybrid OLED technology first appeared in an August 2022 report from The Elec, which said Apple could adopt it in iPads by 2024. Today's report suggests that for now LG will only apply the new technology in its Gen 8 OLED line, while its current Gen 6 OLED line will continue to be used to produce iPad models into next year.

According to the report, Samsung began developing the hybrid technology earlier than LG and will deploy it immediately for the OLED iPad panels it will manufacture on its Gen 6 OLED line. The report does not mention which iPad models will be first to benefit, but according to display industry consultant Ross Young, Apple plans to introduce its first 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with OLED displays in 2024.

Article Link: 2024 iPad Pro Models Likely to Debut Thinner Hybrid OLED Panel Tech

 

[MayaUser]

oled will be for the ipad air..not the pro
We will excuse him for this little mistake

 

[Kylo83]

Nothing wrong with mini led it’s fine and bright, oled has burn in and the iPad doesn’t need new display tech it needs better software

 

[AppleiPhone4lyfe]

oled will be for the ipad air..not the pro
We will excuse him for this little mistake

Haha, this always confused me! The Air is called that because it’s light and does not have all the features of the Pro. It would be very odd for Apple to add a more expensive front panel to the Air before the Pro.

 

[kiranmk2]

So what's the benefit to the end user? It sounds like for the 2024 models as Apple will have two OLED panels: a 'thin' panel from Samsung and a 'thick' panel from LG. Apple won't be able to use a thinner case or a bigger battery until all the suppliers provide 'thin' panels.

My interpretation: if the 2024 iPads use LED, ones made with Samsung panels will be a few grams lighter.

 

[MayaUser]

Haha, this always confused me! The Air is called that because it’s light and does not have all the features of the Pro. It would be very odd for Apple to add a more expensive front panel to the Air before the Pro.

Air is lighter? almost the same weight as the 11" Pro ..that naming is old , maybe still represents that for the Macbooks line up
Pro should be for the productivity not just for content consumption...miniLed>Oled especially if Apple wants to place even more dimming zones than the current one. If Apple will use 1 dimming zone/pixel that tech will be twice as expensive than any Oled is or could be
Until microLed , ipad pros will use and improves the miniLed

 

[Realityck]

Nothing wrong with mini led it’s fine and bright, oled has burn in and the iPad doesn’t need new display tech it needs better software

I think to avoid the display issues, the Samsung 90 hz OLED displays might be as desirable as improvements to iPadOS that we have been requesting. Certainly two goals to better devices to use.

 

[Helmlein]

If only Sir Jony Ive was still with Apple 😎

H.

 

[klasma]

Nothing wrong with mini led it’s fine and bright, oled has burn in and the iPad doesn’t need new display tech it needs better software

I’ve been using a Samsung OLED tablet for some time now, in addition to iPads. To my eyes it’s better than miniLED, and I haven’t had any burn-in issues. For text in particular, miniLED doesn’t cut it, due to higher contrast only being achievable between zones, not within a zone.

No argument that iPadOS needs to improve on the software side.

 

[newyorksole]

this is all well and good I guess, but let’s hope that these new panels come in a 15” size… 😎

or at least 14”.

 

[69Mustang]

The process also incurs lower production cost than flexible OLED panels because it doesn't require a backlighting layer.

This doesn't make any sense. OLED is self-emissive. It doesn't require a backlighting at all. I'm guessing the quote is referring to MiniLED and not OLED. MiniLED is the only thing that makes sense.

 

[Realityck]

This doesn't make any sense. OLED is self-emissive. It doesn't require a backlighting at all. I'm guessing the quote is referring to MiniLED and not OLED. MiniLED is the only thing that makes sense.

The OP link describes the differences

LG Display developing new OLED etching tech for Apple - THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media

LG Display has begun developing a new etching technology for OLED panels that will be supplied to Apple, TheElec has learned.The technology is being prepared by the company to launch a so-called hy...

www.thelec.net

 

[Digitalguy]

Thinner means speakers won't be as full as in the 12.9 M1/M2 (which is fuller and louder than previous gen thanks to the thicker body)

 

[philcourage]

Useless if iPadOS doesn't improve.

 

[GDF]

If it makes the iPad 12.9 Pro lighter and thinner, then that would be an immediate buy from my M1 iPad Pro 12.9.

 

[DMG35]

This year will be:

- Same as last year with new chip

- Camera put in landscape

I’ll buy it.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Meh. iPads have gotten boring. The software has tried to progress but it really needs to be better. I’ve tried to just use an iPad for heavier work. Everything is harder and I still need to find workarounds for basic functions. Device really needs to be better positioned and re imagined.

 

[MrRom92]

After spending a few months with a 10.5” iPad Pro… the screen is definitely the weak point…
(and the battery life, and the 64GB of storage that keeps telling me I have “not enough storage” to airdrop photos over even though settings tells me I have 18.11GB available… but that’s besides the point)

As a result I don’t really do much of anything “fun” with my iPad like watch videos on it or anything even though you’d think it would be so nice to do on a big screen. A big iPad with an OLED screen the same quality as my iPhone would be rad, I just might have to upgrade.

 

[69Mustang]

The OP link describes the differences

LG Display developing new OLED etching tech for Apple - THE ELEC, Korea Electronics Industry Media

LG Display has begun developing a new etching technology for OLED panels that will be supplied to Apple, TheElec has learned.The technology is being prepared by the company to launch a so-called hy...

www.thelec.net

MR's quote is written as if LG's new process has a lower cost of production than flexible OLED because it has no backlighting. It makes no sense because the cost can't be lower due to lack of backlighting because flexible OLED has no backlighting either. LG's cost could be lower, but backlighting can't be the reason because neither process uses backlighting.

It would be like saying the Tesla Model 3 weighs less than a KIA EV6 due to the lack of a 4cyl turbo ICE in the Model 3.

 

[philcourage]

Imagine browsing MacRumors while on the toilet on that iPad. Magical times.

 

[CharlesShaw]

After spending a few months with a 10.5” iPad Pro… the screen is definitely the weak point…
(and the battery life, and the 64GB of storage that keeps telling me I have “not enough storage” to airdrop photos over even though settings tells me I have 18.11GB available… but that’s besides the point)

As a result I don’t really do much of anything “fun” with my iPad like watch videos on it or anything even though you’d think it would be so nice to do on a big screen. A big iPad with an OLED screen the same quality as my iPhone would be rad, I just might have to upgrade.

I’m curious why your experience with the 10.5” only began a few months ago. I got mine in May of 2018 and later that year they changed to the current Pro design but I held onto it (but wow, did I feel like I had bad timing). I returned the M2 I bought in November because the screen is essentially the same, my modest use case makes them both the same, so there’s still life left in my 10.5” until OLED is released. That, and Apple changed my trade-in offer to $0 (lcd bleed) so I got it back and will use it until OLED.

 

[klasma]

- Camera put in landscape

I'd like that, but it's unclear how they can make it work with the magnetic Pencil 2 attachment and charging. Hence why the 10th-gen iPad still only supports the 1st-gen Pencil.

 

[CharlesShaw]

I'd like that, but it's unclear how they can make it work with the magnetic Pencil 2 attachment and charging. Hence why the 10th-gen iPad still only supports the 1st-gen Pencil.

I wonder how many Pencil owners actually use them, or if they many bought it simply because there’s a special spot for it.

 

[guzhogi]

Gotta wonder how fragile these screens are, and how easy they are to replace? I work in an elementary school, and have seen a lot of iPads with at least hairline cracks, if not entirely shattered.

 

[Seanm87]

Gotta wonder how fragile these screens are, and how easy they are to replace? I work in an elementary school, and have seen a lot of iPads with at least hairline cracks, if not entirely shattered.

I think these will be more for the pro models rather than budget ones. (I assume your kids arent chucking top of the line IPad Pros around)