Supply chain: OLED iPad Pro display production begins in February

iPad Pro moving to OLED

Rumors have been flying for years about Apple moving its iPad lineup to OLED. It settled on mini-LED backlighting for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro as a stopgap until OLED could become affordable enough at that display size.

According to an industry report from South Korea's Chosun Biz, shared by OLED Info, OLED panels for Apple's iPad lineup will begin production in February. That's the only new piece of information from this report, as the 10 million unit count and 60/40 split between Samsung and LG were already shared in an earlier report.

Apple is expected to move its iPad mini and iPad Air to OLED by 2026 as well. The initial 10 million supply appears geared towards the 11-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

These industry reports align with a rumor shared by Mark Gurman in August, and more recently by Digitimes. Both suggest that Apple is gearing up for an OLED iPad Pro refresh in early 2024.

Gurman also suggests the 2024 iPad lineup changes will include a slightly larger 13-inch model, a new aluminum Magic Keyboard, and the M3 chipset. He calls this Apple's "best chance in years to reinvigorate the market."

This report is nearly identical to Omdia's, which we rated possible. It seems likely Apple could start production of OLED for iPad Pros in February for a mid-year release — through rumors have previously expected a spring release.

2023 is the first year since the iPad was introduced without a model update. Rumors suggest 2024 is going to be a big year for iPad.