iPad Pro: new display technology rumoured for Apple's tablet
For months there have been reports that Apple would be adding a Mini-LED display to the next iPad Pro. However, new rumours are now also talking about OLEDs.
So far, Apple has relied on traditional LCD technology for the iPad Pro, in contrast to Apple Watch or iPhone. As the Korean site The Elec now reports, this could change multiple times in the coming year.
The site first joins current rumours and says that Apple will present an iPad Pro with Mini-LED in the first half of 2021. But then they go a step further and say that in the second half of the year new models of the iPad Pro with an OLED display would appear.
iPad Pro: First Mini-LED then OLED?
The Elec further writes that Samsung Display and LG Display are currently developing their manufacturing facilities for the production of OLED panels for the iPad Pro. Ross Young, the founder of DisplaySearch, said on Twitter that Samsung and LG Display have already refuted the report. However, it is possible that OLED production for the iPad Pro could begin in 2022.
Samsung and LG Display each refuted the story about making OLEDs for the iPad Pro in 2021. 2022 may be possible though...
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) November 24, 2020
Many of the previous rumours said that initially the 12.9-inch model will be equipped with Mini-LED next March. Based on the new report, MacRumors speculates that it is possible the smaller iPad Pro will initially continue to be equipped with LCD and will only be upgraded with OLED technology later.
Mini-LED and OLED offer various advantages over classic LCDs. For example, in both cases, parts of the display can be completely deactivated, while the LCD backlight is always completely active while in use. At the same time, OLED and Mini-LED allow brighter displays, better contrast and reduced power consumption.
If the report proves to be true, Apple might only be using Mini-LED as a very short term intermediate step before making the leap to OLED. The Elec had correctly predicted in the past that the tablet would be equipped with LiDAR.
The iPad Pro was last updated by Apple in March 2020. At that time, the tablet was upgraded with a new A12Z chip, which offers an additional GPU core. At the same time, the Pro models were equipped with an ultra-wide-angle camera and a LiDAR scanner. The last major design update was in October 2018. The next iPad Pro is said to get 5G and a new chip, possibly an A14X, in addition to new displays.
