2024 OLED iPad Pros Set to Be a Lot Pricier Due to Costly Panel Production Process

Apple's upcoming OLED iPad Pro models are likely to be significantly more expensive than existing OLED devices of a similar size due to the costly new production processes involved, claims a new report out of Korea.

iPad Pro OLED Feature 2
Apple is next year widely expected to launch new 11.1-inch and 13-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models featuring OLED instead of LCD displays, and its panel procurement will account for the largest proportion of material costs, according to Korean-language website The Elec.

Apple is currently believed to be in discussion with Samsung and LG Display about the price of supplying the panels, the specifications for which will require the use of production processes that have not been combined before for OLED panels of the required size.

One of the new production processes is the use of a two-stack tandem structure, which has two emission layers, thus doubling brightness and quadrupling OLED display lifespan. All of Apple's iPhones use a single-stack structure, and Apple's rationale for requiring two-stack panels for iPads is that tablets tend to be used for longer periods.

Another process is the use of low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) thin film transistors (TFT), for a more power efficient backplane that is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, and lastly, a hybrid OLED structure that combines rigid OLED glass substrates with flexible OLED thin-film encapsulation, resulting in an overall thinner panel.

According to The Elec, the supply price of OLED panels for existing 10-inch devices is around $100 to $150, whereas the outlay for the processes involved in making Apple's required 11.1-inch and 13-inch panels is closer to $270 and $350, respectively.

As the report notes, Apple will likely pass on at least some of these material costs to the consumer, which will be reflected in significantly higher retail prices. Currently, the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with LED Liquid Retina display starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ with mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display starts at $1,099.

Today's report adds that LG Display is developing both 11.1-inch and 13-inch iPad OLED panels, whereas Samsung is developing only for the 11.1-inch model, although Samsung may end up developing both types depending on production requirements.

In related developments, Samsung has reportedly decided to invest in eighth-generation OLED production lines, which should "theoretically" result in lower-costing panels compared to those made on the sixth-generation line. The OLED ‌iPad Pro‌ panels coming out next year are to be made using the sixth-generation line, but the panels for Apple's future OLED MacBooks are likely to be made by the eighth-generation line.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macbook pro blue green

When Will Apple Release the M5 MacBook Pro?

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:53 pm PDT by
Apple regularly refreshes the MacBook Pro models, and a new version that uses M5 series chips is in the works. Apple just finished refreshing most of the Mac lineup with M4 chips, and now it's time for the M5. Rumors suggest that we could see the first M5 MacBook Pro models this fall. Design There have been no rumors of a design update for the M5 MacBook Pro models that are coming this...
Apple Lumon Terminal Pro

Apple's Mac Site Features Fictional 'Lumon Terminal Pro'

Wednesday March 26, 2025 12:19 pm PDT by
Apple is going all out with promotions for the popular Severance Apple TV+ show today, and as of right now, you'll find a new "Lumon Terminal Pro" listed on Apple's Mac site. The Lumon Terminal Pro is designed to look similar to the machines that Severance employees like Mark S. and Helly R. use for macrodata refinement. The Terminal features a blue keyboard, a small display with wide...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Supports 8K Video Recording, Suggests Leaker [Updated]

Wednesday March 26, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Update 7:25 pm: Based on comments from our forums, it appears the original Weibo post may have been mistranslated and "8K" actually refers to the high price of the device rather than 8K video recording capabilities. The iPhone 16 Pro currently starts at 7,999 yuan in China. Our original article follows below. Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 Pro models are capable of shooting 8K video, up...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

'iPhone Fold' to Feature Metallic Glass Hinge That Resists Deformation

Thursday March 27, 2025 4:21 am PDT by
Last week, we covered a report claiming that Apple's book-style foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold," as we are provisionally calling it here) will use liquid metal hinges to improve durability and help minimize screen creasing. Today, a Chinese leaker provided more details on the properties of this hinge material that help to clarify why Apple chose it for its first foldable device. According...
iOS 18 4 Ambient Music Control Center

How to Use iOS 18.4's New Ambient Music Feature in Control Center

Thursday March 27, 2025 7:45 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone adds an Ambient Music feature to Control Center. Below, we take a closer look at how it works. iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, so the Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. The update will likely be released to the general public next week. To use the feature on iOS 18.4, open Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

Gurman: Jon Prosser's iOS 19 Mockups 'Aren't Representative' of Redesign

Tuesday March 25, 2025 4:47 pm PDT by
The iOS 19 mockup images that leaker Jon Prosser shared today are not representative of the actual iOS 19 design, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on social media. According to Gurman, the images that are "floating around" are based on "very old builds" or "vague descriptions," and are lacking key features. Gurman says that we can "expect more from Apple in June." Gurman made the same comment ...

Top Rated Comments

SD449 Avatar
27 months ago
Introducing the new iPad Pro with a Pro-posterous price!
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrapesleon Avatar
27 months ago
Well that’s one way to price yourself out the market
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomscott1988 Avatar
27 months ago
As if they aren't expensive enough. Add pencil and keyboard its already at 14" pro territory. Killing itself.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ersan191 Avatar
27 months ago
Make it run macOS and I won't really care about a price increase. I don't understand who's buying these things priced like laptops with such a limited OS.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T'hain Esh Kelch Avatar
27 months ago
Good, those few thousand people globally who could afford the current model were too many!
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pezimak Avatar
27 months ago
That's a ludicrous price for an OLED panel, and I don't buy Apples excuse people use iPads for longer than iPhones either for requesting new expensive manufacturing techniques, not with 6 plus inch iPhones these days. Some people only have an iPhone.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)