The OLED iPad Pro has become the equivalent of my bank balance — I’ve heard rumors it exists, but as I tuck into another day’s dose of instant noodles, it definitely feels like more of a distant idea than a reality.
Well, much like my upcoming payday, those dark days may be over, as according to The Elec, Apple’s next gen prosumer tablet has entered production with a targeted April launch.
Going Pro-LED
This launch window would align with Bloomberg’s report that an Apple event could be coming in March to announce the new iPad Pro models, alongside a new iPad Air in two sizes. Normally, the Cupertino crew announces new devices with a pre-order window a few days later, followed by the launch the week after. So all signs point to later in the month to ship these out the door in early April.
As for the production, Apple has turned to both LG Display and Samsung for help with creating these panels. The former will be making the thin film transistor (TFT) layer for the 13-inch Pro, whereas Samsung’s taking on the same job for the 11-inch. The TFT is a required component for any OLED display, as it works to turn on and off individual OLED pixels — giving it that crispy contrast ratio and power efficiency.
Once these TFT layers are produced, mass production of the whole hardware is expected to kick into full gear around March.
Turning the iPad’s fortunes around?
Keen observers will have seen that there wasn’t a single new iPad launched in 2023, and that did hit sales a fair bit. Apple’s definitely hoping that a full refresh like this will be exactly what is needed to turn things around — probably featuring an upgrade to the M3 chipset you see in the new MacBook Pro to keep everything super smooth on that OLED screen.
But it does come with a bit of a catch. Namely, that OLED screens of this size usually come with a heftier price tag. Does that mean we could see the iPad Pro get stupidly expensive? Hopefully not, but all eyes are on March for the rumored event.
