The 2026 iPad mini is expected to feature an 8.7-inch OLED display
Speaking of the iPad Pro, when the 2027 models are shipped, the OLED displays might consist of the double-stack variety which, as we previously mentioned two paragraphs above, will make them brighter and more durable than the single-stack OLED panels that ETNews says that Apple will use on the 2026 iPad Air and iPad mini. The 2026 iPad mini will sport an 8.7-inch display according to the report, slightly larger than the current 8.3-inch screen.
While the report doesn’t mention double-stack specifically, using a translation app it does say to expect the 2027 iPad Pro to use a “next-generation panel that improves the light efficiency of the panel through Color Filter on Encapsulation (CoE).” Not only will this technology reduce power consumption by up to 20%, but it could allow Apple to use an under-panel version of Face ID on the tablet.
Apple wanted the double-stack OLED so badly that it forced Samsung to produce the panels. After Samsung Display initially refused to develop the double-stack OLED panels that Apple asked for, the latter dropped the supplier from its OLED iPad plans like a hot potato. Samsung Display realized that losing Apple’s tablet business might not be good for the bottom line and a few months later it was hard at work developing double-stack OLED panels just to get back in good graces with Apple’s iPad team.