Apple will switch the iPad Air to OLED screens in the second half of next year, while the mini-LED screen technology will remain exclusive to the emerging iPad Pro models, according to a new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
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Apple is expected to be just a few weeks away from launching a mini-LED iPad Pro, the first Apple device with the newer technology. In Kuo’s latest investor note, seen by MacRumors, the analyst emphasizes his belief that even when the iPad Air transitions to an OLED screen in 2022, mini-LED will remain in its tablet range as a display technology exclusively for iPad Pro models.
The market is worried that Apple will abandon the mini-LED if the OLED starts using in 2022. According to our latest industry survey, if the iPad adopts an OLED screen in 2022, it will be the middle / low-end iPad Air, while the high-end iPad Pro will still use a mini-LED screen. The adoption of OLED in iPad does not affect the positive trend of mini-LED. Because the OLED used in iPad is a rigid type and has a significantly lower PPI than iPhone, it is less challenging to manufacture, and the cost is close to the LCD currently used in iPad Air.
Kuo envisions a future iPad range in which OLED and mini-LEDs further differentiate Apple’s midiPad Air models from mid to lower end of its iPad Pro devices. Apple currently uses OLED screens in the Apple Watch and the iPhone, while Macs and iPad still retain the older LCD technology. OLED screens offer higher brightness, deeper blacks and larger viewing angles. However, it often costs significantly more to produce than LCDs.
Earlier this month, DigiTimes reports that a 10.9-inch iPad, presumably the iPad Air, will be updated with an OLED screen in early 2022. Contrary to Kuo’s remark, DigiTimes states that Apple will also use OLED technology for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. DigiTimes also claimed that Apple could release a 16-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro with OLED later next year.
Apple is already working on several products with mini-LED screens, including the redesigned MacBook Pros. Kuo believes that Apple’s use of mini-LEDs will accelerate in the coming years as production costs fall, with Apple’s mid-to-high devices using the technology first throughout.