Report: iPad Air to Gain OLED Display Early Next Year

[anthorumor]

Of course it will, because I just bought an Air M4.

 

[TheBeverage]

Anyone bothered?

Apples iPad lineup needs a rethink. In what world is anyone buying this with a keyboard for nearly £900 when you can get a MacBook Neo with a bigger screen, longer battery and double the storage for £599.

Not everyone buys a keyboard with an iPad. Seems unnecessary to me.

 

[Velora Bloom]

The iPhone 17e has a 60hz OLED panel. So yes, there are such panels still on the market.

My point being: that’s a 120 Hz panel but limited with software or engineering to 60 Hz. All oled phone displays you can buy are at minimum 120. Laptop sizes at minimum 90 and tv sizes again 120.

So perhaps we mean the same but I look at it from Apple’s point of view. If you look at it from a consumer’s point of view, then yes, then it’s still possible to get 60 Hz in your device.

 

[Happy_John]

Not everyone buys a keyboard with an iPad. Seems unnecessary to me.

Me neither, but then, that’s not how I use an iPad - I don’t use an iPad as a Mac replacement.

It’s good the option exists for those who do find it useful, but the keyboard is an optional extra. It’s be a worse situation if Apple only sold an iPad and keyboard as a single-box product.

 

[cdsapplefan]

Yeah, yeah, give it a few months and it will be pushed back to 2028. lol.

Yeah Apple 🍎 will want consumers to buy or be tempted to buy the iPhone/iPad air duo aka: iPhone Ultra for 2026. OLED iPad Air & OLED iPad Mini will come out probably March/April 2027 at Spring event.

 

[Happy_John]

My point being: that’s a 120 Hz panel but limited with software or engineering to 60 Hz. All oled phone displays you can buy are at minimum 120. Laptop sizes at minimum 90 and tv sizes again 120.

So perhaps we mean the same but I look at it from Apple’s point of view. If you look at it from a consumer’s point of view, then yes, then it’s still possible to get 60 Hz in your device.

It’s possible with the panel, but I doubt Apple will offer it as a product. And, not just for marketing reasons. In terms of power consumption, reiability and longevity, there may be reasons why Apple limits certain panels to 60 Hz. I don’t know.

I do know that not all OLED panels are equally good, and cheap OLED can be… „not great”.

 

[Happy_John]

120hz kills battery life;

https://www.reddit.com/r/Xiaomi/comments/y69gbu/when_you_turn_off_120hz_you_get_3_hours_of_extra

Everything that draws power from the battery „kills battery life”. No way around that.

 

[code-m]

Great update with OLED! It is a great news for all customers and potential customers liking the product!

Move the entry level iPad to mini-LED.

 

[code-m]

I get the single stack panel, which can be differentiated as a Pro feature, but I don't get the lack of Pro-motion. In the iPhone range the high (Pro/Pro Max), mid (Air) and low (non-pro) models now feature 120 Hz, so why would Apple not apply it to at least the mid (iPad Air) tier of their iPad lineup?

At this point the Air and Pro should just merge as the hardware updates for both are nonexistence other than chip, ram and storage options.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

120hz kills battery life;

That post you quoted is for a Xiaomi phone. Apple Promotion is a variable refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz, so there can be times the OLED @ 10Hz uses LESS battery than a 60Hz. I think, on average, it's pretty much a wash.

 

[satchmo]

And with this, there goes the affordable 13" iPad.

 

[Happy_John]

And with this, there goes the affordable 13" iPad.

That's my worry :-(

 

[turbineseaplane]

Does there even need to be an iPad Air?

It seems like iPad Mini, iPad & iPad Pros should be "it"

 

[Royksöpp]

I hate how my iPad Pro ruined my iPhone screen. I thought the iPhone had one of the best screens, the iPad said hold my beer. Even my OLED TV barely holds a candle to it.

 

[Juanchi007]

I’ve been looking to replace my M1 iPad Pro but haven’t been able to justify replacing it with an over-powered and over-expensive new 13” M5 iPad Pro. I think the OLED in this would make it a worthwhile downgrade for a lot of people.

 

[jsavvy]

I’ve been looking to replace my M1 iPad Pro but haven’t been able to justify replacing it with an over-powered and over-expensive new 13” M5 iPad Pro. I think the OLED in this would make it a worthwhile downgrade for a lot of people.

I'm in the same boat - my 2018 iPad Pro is about EOL. I'm not sure I want to spend the money on a new iPad Pro. I'm hoping a solid Air could be the alternative.

 

[Tim Jobs the 2nd]

Does there even need to be an iPad Air?

It seems like iPad Mini, iPad & iPad Pros should be "it"

Why?

 

[capamac]

I have a Samsung Galaxy A17. It's the first OLED panel I've owned. I don't think it's really any better than the IPS LCD panel on my Macbook Air M1. OLED is kinda overrated, and they get burn-in to boot.

 

[throAU]

its about freaking time.

The iPad air either needs OLED or needs to die. It also needs faceID. As does the mac. I seriously miss faceID from my ipad pro when i switch back to my macbook pro.

 

[code-m]

Mmmm, it really depends on quality and lifespan of the OLED panel used. As states, it’s NOT the tandem OLED used in the Pro.

Apple could employ QD-OLED for the Air along with pixel shifting for burn-in concerns. QD-OLED is as bright if not brighter than Tandem-OLED for far less cost and colour saturation is also gained.

 

[throAU]

Anyone bothered?

Apples iPad lineup needs a rethink. In what world is anyone buying this with a keyboard for nearly £900 when you can get a MacBook Neo with a bigger screen, longer battery and double the storage for £599.

people who want to use a pencil on the screen, better security, an easier to use interface, better speakers and both portrait/landscape screen orientation in a handheld device that you don’t need to use on your lap or a desk (i.e. you can use it standing up)?

WHY DO SCREWDRIVERS EXIST WHEN HAMMERS EXIST?

(Macbook Pro Max and ipad Pro+pencil+keyboard here - i use both for different things)

 

[code-m]

The iPhone 17e has a 60hz OLED panel. So yes, there are such panels still on the market.

Economics of scale will eventually say producing a 60Hz only OLED is cost prohibitive compared to 120Hz OLED. There is a reason why we don’t see 1,2,3,4 etc GB thumb drives or SD cards. Who wants one that small? and you can get larger for the same if not less (omit recent price hikes due to AI).

 

[code-m]

people who want to use a pencil on the screen, better security, an easier to use interface, better speakers and both portrait/landscape screen orientation in a handheld device that you don’t need to use on your lap or a desk (i.e. you can use it standing up)?

WHY DO SCREWDRIVERS EXIST WHEN HAMMERS EXIST?

(Macbook Pro Max and ipad Pro here - i use both for different things)

There are some hammer and screwdriver combo tools, never say never 😝

 

[code-m]

its about freaking time.

The iPad air either needs OLED or needs to die. It also needs faceID. As does the mac. I seriously miss faceID from my ipad pro when i switch back to my macbook pro.

Mac laptops need a smaller or no notch which is a bigger priority to be honest.

 

[xmarcuswildx]

I have a Samsung Galaxy A17. It's the first OLED panel I've owned. I don't think it's really any better than the IPS LCD panel on my Macbook Air M1. OLED is kinda overrated, and they get burn-in to boot.

burn in is very situational. Degradation on the other hand is real. I’ve had an LG C77 OLED since 2021 or so… zero issues. My LCD Sony TV has degraded immensely.