Here’s what is happening. Initially, Samsung Display and LG Display were going to share the task of producing 11.1-inch OLED panels for the iPad Pro. LG Display would supply the 12.9-inch OLED panels for Apple’s top-of-the-line tablet. However, due to high prices, Samsung Display would be the only supplier of the 11.1-inch OLED display. Causing the price to soar, the 11.1-inch OLED panels were the first for a tablet to include low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology for a dynamic refresh rate.
The iPad Air (2024) will have a 10.9-inch variant, and, for the first time, a 12.9-inch variant will be added
Other design options such as tandem stacks, and glass thinning reduced the yield which also hiked the cost of production. DSCC’s latest survey shows that LG Display is supplying Apple with 11.1-inch OLED panels while Samsung is not able to supply Apple with the required amount of 12.9-inch OLED panels.
April production of the 12.9-inch screens is expected to be 22% higher than the numbers for March; forecast production of the 11.1-inch screens should have been double what is expected. Thus, both Samsung Display and LG Display will need to sharply increase production of their 11.1-inch panels so that Apple will be able to meet demand for the smaller variant of the iPad Pro (2024); the line will be the first iPads in history equipped with OLED screens.
The higher prices for OLED displays have forced Apple to add a second 12.9-inch iPad Air model in case consumers want a large tablet but don’t want to pay what could be a stunningly large price for the 12,.9-inch OLED iPad Pro model. DSCC, which has an outstanding track record when it comes to display-related rumors, says that the LCD displays for the 12.9-inch iPad Air started shipping in December.
