LG & Samsung to Supply OLED Displays for New iPad Pro, Arriving this March
Apple will soon be jumping onto the OLED bandwagon, starting this year. The company will launch two new iPad Pros in 11-inch and 13-inch models, which are expected to arrive as soon as March 2024. The smaller 11-inch version will come with a display resolution of 2,388 x 1,668 and the larger 13-inch at 2,880 x 1,920 pixels.
Apple Diversifies the OLED iPad Supply Chain with Two South Korean Competitors, Both to Manufacture Separate Models
The supply chain for OLED iPads has been entrusted to two South Korean display manufacturers, namely Samsung Display and LG. Samsung will be in charge of producing the displays for smaller 11-inch iPad Pros, while the larger 13-inch screens would be manufactured by LG Display.
The market forecast for the OLED iPad models is round about 8 million units for 2024, 4.5 million of which will be filled by LG and the remaining will be produced by Samsung. Last year however, it was predicted that these iPads would sell over 10 million units worldwide.
LG and Samsung, both for the production of 13 and 11-inch models will only supply the first initial batch of displays. This number will cover the units sold in all major markets around the globe right after the product is announced. After that, it is possible that LG could also bring in some orders for the smaller 11-inch models.
| Current 11-inch iPad Pro | Upcoming 11-inch iPad Pro | Current 12.9-inch iPad Pro | Upcoming 13-inch iPad Pro | |
| Dimensions | 247.6mm x 178.5mm x 5.9 mm | 249.7mm x 177.5mm x 5.1mm | 280.6mm x 214.9mm x 6.4mm | 281.5mm x 215.5mm x 5.0mm |
| Display | mini-LED | OLED | mini-LED | OLED |
| SoC | M2 | M3 | M2 | M3 |
| Starting Price (USD) | $799 | $1500 (expected) | $1099 | $1800 (expected) |
OLED Upgrade Doubles Display Cost, Starting at $1,500
Apple has been using OLED in the Apple Watch since 2015, which was supplied by LG and in the iPhones since 2017 where Samsung made the first displays for the iPhone X. However, an OLED display for a phone only costs about $50 – $60, but bigger screens, such as the one that’ll be used in the iPad, cost anywhere around $280 – $290 for the 11-inch model and $380 – $390 for the 13-inch models.
The spike in BOM (bill of materials) is also why the price of the OLED iPads may also jump up to $1,500 (11″), up from $800 and $1,800 (13″), up from $1,100. Further down the road, Apple is expected to release an 8.3″ iPad Mini OLED, 10.8″ iPad Air OLED and a 14.2″ & 16.2″ MacBook Pro in 2026.
This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.
via: Hanooki
