M5 iPad Pro OLED Displays Enter Mass Production for October Launch

[MacRumors]

Apple is expected to release new iPad Pro models powered by its latest M5 chip later this year, and both Samsung Display and LG Display have reportedly begun mass production of the devices' OLED panels in preparation.

For last year's iPad Pro models which debuted OLED displays, Samsung handled supply for the 11-inch panels, while LG dealt with the 13-inch panels. This year, ZDNet Korea reports that the two manufacturers will share supply for both panel sizes, likely as a result of Apple's efforts to diversify its supply chain.

The change is also likely related to Apple's need to deepen OLED adoption across its suppliers. Reports suggest plans to introduce OLED panels for the iPad mini in 2026 and the iPad Air in 2027.

Aside from OLED displays, last year's M4 iPad Pro models adopted a thinner and lighter design, support for the new Apple Pencil Pro, and more. This year, the iPad Pro will likely receive a much smaller update, with no major upgrades rumored beyond the M5 chip, which will be manufactured on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process technology for performance and efficiency improvements.

The only other potential change that's been rumored is for the Apple logo on the back to switch to a landscape orientation rather than a portrait orientation. That would make the Apple logo upright when the iPad is in landscape mode, such as when it is used with a keyboard.

Back in March, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new iPad Pro models could launch around October this year. For reference, the M4 iPad Pro models launched in May of 2024.

(Via DigiTimes.)

Article Link: M5 iPad Pro OLED Displays Enter Mass Production for October Launch

 

[John_san]

Maybe maybe maybe this could become my first iPad pro. Wait & see, especially waiting for iPadOS 26.

 

[tonie walker]

the other camera lens will not return? brave of them to rotate the logo! my ipad pro sits on its magic keyboard all the time. Place all the logo you want in any orientation no one will noticed 😆

 

[d5aqoëp]

Apple tried extra hard to NOT include Wifi7 in M4 iPad Pro. Need to sell Wifi7 for next tablet.

Apart from SOC, they are generations behind in almost everything

Wifi: behind
Cameras: behind
GPU: behind Qualcomm
Battery tech: behind
Screen anti reflective coating: far far behind

I am wondering what caused Apple to be industry laggards? The above technologies are not even brand new. They are 2-3 years old now.

 

[flobach]

I have an inkling 16GB of RAM will become the default for the pros, possibly 12 for the M4 iPad airs. Noticing some smaller issues with my 8GB on my M2 IPP when using an external monitor…but maybe it’s just the OS.

 

[MrGimper]

Panel lottery per screen size now, not just across screen sizes.

 

[acgmph]

I'll stick with the M4 for the next few years.

 

[aevan]

Maybe maybe maybe this could become my first iPad pro. Wait & see, especially waiting for iPadOS 26.

I’m running the beta and 13” iPad Pro and iPadOS 26 really feel like they are a match made in heaven.

 

[ThroughTheMirrorDimly]

Wonder when the iMac will go OLED.

Or even if there will *be* another iMac. The current model is basically a tablet on a stand as it is. With the new iPad OS integrating more Mac OS features, I can easily see 4-5 years down the road, an integration of iPad OS and Mac OS.

Maybe the stand could hold all the ports, and the screen could be a removable tablet.

Also does anyone know if this is W-OLED or QD-OLED?

 

[one more]

“Reports suggest plans to introduce OLED panels for the iPad mini in 2026 and the iPad Air in 2027.”

I bet iPad Air is more popular and sells better than mini, so I would switch them around in that release schedule. FWIW, I am not upgrading my iPad Air M1 until Airs get their OLES screens, as the rest of the improvements do not matter to me that much to justify the upgrade.

 

[MayaUser]

Apple tried extra hard to NOT include Wifi7 in M4 iPad Pro. Need to sell Wifi7 for next tablet.

Apart from SOC, they are generations behind in almost everything

Wifi: behind
Cameras: behind
GPU: behind Qualcomm
Battery tech: behind
Screen anti reflective coating: far far behind

I am wondering what caused Apple to be industry laggards? The above technologies are not even brand new. They are 2-3 years old now.

cameras on ipad not so important...the gpu M4/M5 gpu behind qualcomm tablets? i hope you are kidding

 

[James_C]

Apple tried extra hard to NOT include Wifi7 in M4 iPad Pro. Need to sell Wifi7 for next tablet.

Apart from SOC, they are generations behind in almost everything

Wifi: behind
Cameras: behind
GPU: behind Qualcomm
Battery tech: behind
Screen anti reflective coating: far far behind

I am wondering what caused Apple to be industry laggards? The above technologies are not even brand new. They are 2-3 years old now.

I must confess I don't follow other manufacturers’ tablets - so out of interest, what current tablet are you saying is 'way ahead' of the iPad Pro?

The vast majority of recent reviews I have seen, say the iPad Pro currently is the best of the bunch.

 

[derdante]

It would be nice if they could get the number of displays with defective pixels down this time around. I've had to return mine a couple of times to get a device without dead pixels.

 

[MRSugarD]

Maybe maybe maybe this could become my first iPad pro. Wait & see, especially waiting for iPadOS 26.

Go for it. Easily the best tablet you can buy. You will be amazed

 

[hinchesk]

With iPadOS 26, this will be my first iPad Pro too. I’d rather stick to the price point of the Air but seems like they’ll never get FaceID.

In other news, expect the next iPad Air to get FaceID.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

It would be nice if they could get the number of displays with defective pixels down this time around. I've had to return mine a couple of times to get a device without dead pixels.

I didn't have any problem with that on my iPad Pro, but my M2 Max MacBook Pro 16" is on it's third display now and once again has dead pixels...

 

[sziehr]

Apple tried extra hard to NOT include Wifi7 in M4 iPad Pro. Need to sell Wifi7 for next tablet.

Apart from SOC, they are generations behind in almost everything

Wifi: behind
Cameras: behind
GPU: behind Qualcomm
Battery tech: behind
Screen anti reflective coating: far far behind

I am wondering what caused Apple to be industry laggards? The above technologies are not even brand new. They are 2-3 years old now.

look look at this guy, he does not know how apple works....

 

[sziehr]

I just hope they have some what resolved the screen grain issue of the original model to refine the pitch of the pixels so that I might be able to give one a go.

 

[klasma]

the other camera lens will not return? brave of them to rotate the logo! my ipad pro sits on its magic keyboard all the time. Place all the logo you want in any orientation no one will noticed 😆

They could do it like Dell:

 

[klasma]

Also does anyone know if this is W-OLED or QD-OLED?

Neither, it’s an RGB layout without quantum dots:

I believe the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch use the same layout.

 

[klasma]

Wonder when the iMac will go OLED.

Not the iMac, but maybe the MacBook Pro already next year, according to this old leaked roadmap:

 

[Limci]

I want 4k 120hz output. Any news about that?

 

[Kingcoherent]

Guessing this means that the upgraded MacBook Pros will be a little bit later, probably next year.

Given the (presumably) poor memory bandwidth of the Nvidia DGX Spark I am instead going to switch from an Air to a Pro for my main machine, with a maxed out M5 once available.

It will be interesting to see what sort of memory bandwidth the plain m5 has, and the default memory then given to iPads. If they had JiT support then they would be a serious contender for a laptop replacement (you could run a full VM that performs well... so long as they have enough memory). It will also be interesting to see the size of the NPU, again this could give the iPad even more capability as a productivity tool.

It's almost certainly too early for me to update my m4 iPad. But for those who are looking for a new iPad, here's hoping that Apple makes it a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Hopefully there is more than just an M5 chip else the dog-and-pony show is going to be pretty short.

 

[snipr125]

Apple tried extra hard to NOT include Wifi7 in M4 iPad Pro. Need to sell Wifi7 for next tablet.

Apart from SOC, they are generations behind in almost everything

Wifi: behind
Cameras: behind
GPU: behind Qualcomm
Battery tech: behind
Screen anti reflective coating: far far behind

I am wondering what caused Apple to be industry laggards? The above technologies are not even brand new. They are 2-3 years old now.

You conveniently forgot the most important component of a tablet, the screen. The Tandem OLED display is the best display in the industry right now bar none. With iPad OS 26, it could be argued that iPads in general will have the best tablet software going forward.