2024 iPad Pro Models Likely to Debut Thinner Hybrid OLED Panel Tech

Apple is set to benefit from new OLED panel etching technology being developed by LG that will allow for slimmer devices while lowering production costs, according to Korea's The Elec.

OLED iPad Pro Feature
The new hybrid technology reportedly combines rigid OLED glass substrates with flexible OLED thin-film encapsulation (TFE), making the panels thinner than rigid OLED panels. The process also incurs lower production costs than flexible OLED panels because it doesn't require a backlighting layer.

Conventional rigid OLED panels use two glass substrates, but in a hybrid OLED panel the top glass substrate is replaced with TFE. This makes the panel thinner, while the remaining bottom glass substrate is etched even thinner from 0.5mm to 0.2mm.

The resulting "ultra-thin glass" is more vulnerable to breaking while being moved to the next process in the production line, therefore LG is developing a simultaneous etch-and-cut process to mitigate risk.

Reference to the hybrid OLED technology first appeared in an August 2022 report from The Elec, which said Apple could adopt it in iPads by 2024. Today's report suggests that for now LG will only apply the new technology in its Gen 8 OLED line, while its current Gen 6 OLED line will continue to be used to produce iPad models into next year.

According to the report, Samsung began developing the hybrid technology earlier than LG and will deploy it immediately for the OLED iPad panels it will manufacture on its Gen 6 OLED line. The report does not mention which iPad models will be first to benefit, but according to display industry consultant Ross Young, Apple plans to introduce its first 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with OLED displays in 2024.

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Top Rated Comments

Kylo83 Avatar
24 months ago
Nothing wrong with mini led it’s fine and bright, oled has burn in and the iPad doesn’t need new display tech it needs better software
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
24 months ago

Nothing wrong with mini led it’s fine and bright, oled has burn in and the iPad doesn’t need new display tech it needs better software
I’ve been using a Samsung OLED tablet for some time now, in addition to iPads. To my eyes it’s better than miniLED, and I haven’t had any burn-in issues. For text in particular, miniLED doesn’t cut it, due to higher contrast only being achievable between zones, not within a zone.

No argument that iPadOS needs to improve on the software side.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
magicschoolbus Avatar
24 months ago
Meh. iPads have gotten boring. The software has tried to progress but it really needs to be better. I’ve tried to just use an iPad for heavier work. Everything is harder and I still need to find workarounds for basic functions. Device really needs to be better positioned and re imagined.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GDF Avatar
24 months ago
If it makes the iPad 12.9 Pro lighter and thinner, then that would be an immediate buy from my M1 iPad Pro 12.9.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleiPhone4lyfe Avatar
24 months ago

oled will be for the ipad air..not the pro
We will excuse him for this little mistake
Haha, this always confused me! The Air is called that because it’s light and does not have all the features of the Pro. It would be very odd for Apple to add a more expensive front panel to the Air before the Pro.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Digitalguy Avatar
24 months ago
Thinner means speakers won't be as full as in the 12.9 M1/M2 (which is fuller and louder than previous gen thanks to the thicker body)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)