William Gallagher
A new supply chain report backs up previous rumors that Apple's 2024 iPad Pro releases will use a new hybrid OLED etching technology to produce slimmer devices.
Where OLED panels typically use two glass substrates, hybrid OLED replaces the top one with a Thin-Film Encapsulation (TFE) layer. At the same time, the glass layer is etched to be even thinner than before; typically 0.2mm instead of the 0.5mm of a regular layer.
This also means that overall, since the panel is significantly thinner, it also doesn't need a backlighting layer. That reduces the cost of the panel, which is a particular issue with OLED manufacturing costs recently expected to greatly increase the retail price of future iPad Pro models.
According to The Elec, LG Display has begun work on a new etching technology to produce the screens. Etching is the process of removing unneeded areas of the panel, so reducing its weight, but in a thin, single-layer, glass can be broken just in transporting it to the etching production line.
So LG Display is reportedly working on a system where a panel can be cut and etched in one process, without moving it.
LG is reportedly intending to apply the new process to its Gen 8 OLED production line. The company is already producing Gen 6 OLED panels for Apple, which will reportedly continue to be used in the iPad Pro range until the launch of the Gen 8 system.
The Elec has a mixed track record on Apple-related stories. While it has a decent one on supply chain matters, like this one, it has a notably poorer one on Apple's specific plans or making inferences from the data it gleans from within the supply chain.
Apple's potential use of a hybrid OLED system was first reported in October 2022.
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
9 Comments
Gods forbid they maintain thickness and increase battery capacity instead...
OLED Technology doesn’t have backlighting layer. LED does. No current iPad Pro used OLED tech so much of this article is not correct.