2024 iPad Pro to Use LCD Panel Instead of OLED or Mini-LED, Claims Sketchy Report

[JimmyG]

"...hurdle for broader industry adoption..." and "...could be motivated by the company's focus on scalability and market penetration..." tell me that there is clearly a market segment requiring the higher-end processors of the Pro models but which don't necessitate or "just don't want" the higher-end HDR displays. Providing a lower unit-cost non-HDR Pro that satifies both needs along side the existing HDR XDR models seems like a marketing no-brainer, Apple would be wise to grab that "cash sitting on the table" and expand its user base.

 

[prime17569]

My guess is that Apple is exploring multiple strategies. At best, we're getting an incomplete picture of what is going on.

 

[Rychiar]

Why are common screens used cheaply by tons of other manufacturers always such an issue for Apple 🤷🏻‍♂️ why would anyone buy a new iPad Pro without a drastic update this year? I’ll be good with my m1 for the next ten years

 

[Mr_Ed]

The OLED iPhone Pro now goes up to 2000 nits, while the iPad Pro still only goes up to 1000 nits, so I don’t know about that.

My comment (and the one I was replying to) related to OLED TVs, not handheld devices.

There is a big difference in the effects of room ambient light between a handheld device 18 inches from your eyes, and a TV 9-10 feet away. I know if I had an OLED TV in the room where I have my primary TV, it would be practically unusable during certain times of the day. I am sitting in that same room typing in a 1st Gen iPad Pro with no issues whatsoever.

 

[krspkbl]

no OLED no buy.

 

[klasma]

My comment (and the one I was replying to) related to OLED TVs, not handheld devices.

There is a big difference in the effects of room ambient light between a handheld device 18 inches from your eyes, and a TV 9-10 feet away. I know if I had an OLED TV in the room where I have my primary TV, it would be practically unusable during certain times of the day. I am sitting in that same room typing in a 1st Gen iPad Pro with no issues whatsoever.

So what is the relevance of that for an OLED iPad?

 

[jamesjingyi]

Considering sales of MacBooks and iPads keep on dropping, I would think they'd consider making the line up much simpler at some point. The big margin can only make up for the weak sales so long.

iPad - basic one, focused on school / uni
iPad Air (11 inch)
iPad Pro (12 inch)

MacBook - basic one, focused on school / uni
MacBook Air - 15 inch (not sure why this one is bigger than a Pro anyway but here we are)
MacBook Pro - 14 inch / 16 inch

If it was up to me I'd do

iPad - 11 inch
iPad Pro - 12.9 inch

MacBook - 13 inch
MacBook - Pro 15 inch

No one needs this "Air" non sense. Only exists to keep the price of the "Pro" models high, just like the iPhone "Plus"

Do we really need each model in different screen sizes?

No sorry I’m so used to 120Hz on my 11”, the iPad Pro needs to stay in 11 and 12.9, I was just hoping it got mini LED soon.

I think when we say ‘shipments are down’, they are still selling enough to create 16 variants of the base iPad, 20 variants of the Air, 16 variants of the mini, and 64 variants of the Pro.

I think they would just slim down the number of variants rather than cut out product lines.

 

[vegetassj4]

I would like to put forth the sketchy rumor that the iPad Pro will be using CRT technology:

 

[Macalway]

As with Samsung tablets, and the thing with OLED is the viewing angle is just about perfect. Regular IPS screens are fine, but appear to be inferior. With non-OLED there's a noticeable shift at extreme angles. Once you see this this you can't go back, which of course, is par for the course with this type of thing.

I haven't compaired OLED with Mini-LED, and won't for the very reason above, as I like my M2 11"

 

[Onelifenofear]

So this is one of those leaks, leaked to find out who's doing all the leaking.

They tell each suspect a different crazy thing and then they reveal themselves

"Yup we a going to LCD"
"Next iPhone will be rounded corner squares"
"$99 Apple Watch with no touch screen. Sure that's happening"

 

[terminator-jq]

- Sees article heading
- Gets shocked
- Sees "DigiTimes"
- Closes website

Was literally going to type pretty much this exact thing 😂

Can’t believe we are still taking Digitimes seriously enough to report on. I’d trust that FPT guy before them.

 

[timber]

MacBooks are for people who are into quality, reliability, longevity, value for money & devises that "just work"
I would suggest that's not just a few individual cases 😊

Perhaps due to English not being my native language you didn't get my post.

I didn't say Macbooks aren't all that. The reasoning behind the post is that they are exactly all that.

What I was trying to say is how a (software) limited device like the iPad Pro (particularly the larger one) sold at Macbook prices manages to get a reasonably large market appeal beyond a few specific use cases.

 

[stiligFox]

Gonna be sad if true - the only reason I was considering an iPad next year was if it gets an OLED screen…

 

[Larabee119]

if it's going back to LCD then the price will be reduced for market penetration in certain sectors or in lower income countries.

 

[anthogag]

Putting a regressive display in the Pro due to lack of broader industry adoption is total bull-pu. The "broader industry" has several iPads to choose from if iPad Pro is too expensive.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Somebody just got fired for leaking planted information. On top of that, a rumor like this can juice sales, since potential buyers on the fence will instead jump getting the current gen with Mini-LED to avoid the downgrade if Apple does switch.

 

[Basic75]

The current 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a mini-LED display that Apple calls a "Liquid Retina XDR display," while the 11-inch variant uses an inferior LCD-based "Liquid Retina Display."

That's a weird way to describe the two displays as they both use an LCD panel with LED backlight.

The difference is that the 12.9 can have different backlight brightness in different parts of the display.

 

[upandown]

If Apple wanted to put an OLED in an iPad, they would have. I don’t think they plan to any time soon. We’ve been hearing for years it’s coming to the iPad. It’s not happening.

 

[dampfnudel]

Knowing Apple like we all do, this report doesn’t sound that sketchy.

 

[Aston441]

I'm still skeptical about using OLED in production devices or ones catering towards text editing and reading. PWM is already a pain to my eyes and judging by reviews, testimonials and my own experience, OLED tech I nowhere near ready for office use, and that's how I mainly use my Pro - as an ad hoc business device.

Most people can't see the PWM flicker because their brains are too slow.

 

[Mr_Ed]

So what is the relevance of that for an OLED iPad?

Ask the person I was replying to.

 

[Maigrais]

...while the 11-inch variant uses an inferior LCD-based "Liquid Retina Display."
Inferior is a strong word, the 11-inch display doesnt suffer from pwm like that of the XDR display! I spend hours on the ipad so it matters a great deal to me!

The display lights up to a peak brightness of 1,000 nits for the 12.9-inch device. When viewing HDR content, it cranks it up to a whopping 1,600 nits. The whole motion picture becomes breathtaking. So yes, 11-inch peaks at 600 nits no matter what. Hence it is inferior.

 

[platinumaqua]

I actually prefer traditional LCDs for watching HDR content because the brightness is more uniform throughout the screen. The way HDR content is shown on OLED iPhones and mini LED macs hurts my eyes. Feels similar to being blinded by oncoming car headlights at night

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

i dont think your ready for this jelly (scrolling)

 

[iSayuSay]

I actually prefer traditional LCDs for watching HDR content because the brightness is more uniform throughout the screen. The way HDR content is shown on OLED iPhones and mini LED macs hurts my eyes. Feels similar to being blinded by oncoming car headlights at night

Traditional LED backlit cant do HDR (regardless of what they claim on the spec sheet). The point of HDR is that you get a wider color space. Bright is brighter while retaining details on darker part on that scene

That thing can only be done on full array led or OLED.