New OLED iPad Pro will probably cost as much as a MacBook Pro

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad
A new supply chain report claims that Apple's 2024 iPad Pro models with OLED screens will cost up to 80% more than the current releases.

iPad Pro could cost almost double with an OLED screen
iPad Pro could cost almost double with an OLED screen


Following its existing February report that the forthcoming iPad Pro with OLED display would be more costly, The Elec now says that its industry sources have backed up the claims.

Specifically, the 11-inch iPad Pro with OLED display is reported to be 80% more expensive than the current generation. It's claimed this model will start at $1,500.

The 12.9-inch edition, which The Elec consistently refers to as a 13-inch model, is said to be 60% more costly. It will start at $1,800.

According to The Elec, its industry sources are divided in their response to the potential prices. The publication summarizes people in favor of the price as saying it is "a reasonable increase even considering that it is an Apple product with loyal customers."

Sources arguing against the move, though, are summarized as saying that, "the iPad is not as loyal as the iPhone and has a lot of replacements [alternatives], so it will be difficult to maintain the existing iPad Pro lineup sales at $1500 to $1800."

Apple is reportedly discussing pricing with manufacturers LG Display and Samsung Display. None have commented on the reports.

The Elec has a poor reputation for predicting Apple's plans, but a much stronger one for its industry sources. In this case, it's also likely that the price increase claim is correct because Apple wants two layers of OLED on the iPad Pro, instead of one.

If it is correct, the OLED iPad Pro models will cost more than some MacBook editions. However, Apple is reportedly also considering OLED screens for the MacBook Pro in 2026.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    peterhartpeterhart Posts: 162member
    I have a 3rd gen iPP 12.9” and it’s treated me well over the years. Been waiting to see what comes next, but I’m certainly not shelling out $1,800 for a new one if what was described actually goes on sale. I’d make a current 6th gen last me another 5 years first. 
    clemynxentropyswatto_cobrafred1xyzzy-xxx
  • Reply 2 of 37
    kmareikmarei Posts: 203member
    Galaxy tab S8 + has a 12.4" oled screen and starts at $899 for Wi-Fi version
    and galaxy tab s8 ultra has a 14.6" oled screen and starts at $1099
    ipads are already pricier than their competitors 
    I doubt many people would buy it at laptop prices 
    edited March 2023 wallymM68000clemynxneo-techentropysdoozydozenxyzzy-xxxelijahg
  • Reply 3 of 37
    wallymwallym Posts: 34member
    I'm sure that oled screens are great and awesome.  So is the screen on my $449 ipad.  I just don't see where the marginal value of an oled screen will drive a higher net profit on ipads.  Assuming the galaxy tab s8 devices have oled screens and are at current comparable prices, I don't see how the ipad pro models can justify a 60-80% price increase in many people's eyes.  yes, some will buy it.  however, I think the price increase also forces people down to the ipad air or regular ipad.
    clemynxDAalsethmuthuk_vanalingam9secondkox2neo-techTheObannonFiledewmedoozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 37
    omasouomasou Posts: 613member
    If Apple wants it to replace a MacBook then it needs to do everything a MacBook can...overlapping windows...develop applications, etc. otherwise it's too much money to run vertical business applications.

    edited March 2023 DAalsethmuthuk_vanalingam9secondkox2wallymentropysdoozydozenelijahg
  • Reply 5 of 37
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Every time the topic of price comes up the yapping starts. I spent $5K to replace my late 2013 27” iMac with a Mac Studio Max and Studio Monitor and I’m glad I did. This will be my primary machine for the foreseeable future.
    9secondkox2doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 37
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,970member
    Dear Apple:
    When did you stop being The Computer for the Rest of Us? I mean, there has been the Apple Tax for ages, but for a long time if you matched feature for feature it would disappear. Now though you just keep driving prices up and up. I mean $3k laptops are cool and all, but even your Mini has climbed steeply. More importantly the price has become prohibitive for a lot of The Rest of Us.  When I got my M1 iPad Pro a bit over a year ago, I really had to scrape to make it. Now you are looking at ~20% above that? For an OLED display that few outside of the technoratti either want or could even tell the difference? Looks like my next iPad will be an Air. I’ll just have to deal with the small screen and that’s assuming you don’t double the price by the time I need to replace the one I have. The replacement for my iMac? Well the new iMac is great and all, but it’s outside of what I can swing. I’m eying a base Mini and external FW drives rather than your exorbitantly priced storage. Actually today I started pondering if for what I NEED the Mac for I might be able to get by with a cheap Linux box. I’d lose all the ‘nice’ functions I use the Mac for on the side, but I could get by.

    Apple; you’re leaving The Rest of Us behind. 
    9secondkox2neo-techelijahg
  • Reply 7 of 37
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    “a reasonable increase even considering that it is an Apple product with loyal customers“

    Were people on drugs when they wrote this?
    urahara9secondkox2WhiskeyAPPLEciderneo-techdoozydozenelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 37
    clemynxclemynx Posts: 1,552member
    lkrupp said:
    Every time the topic of price comes up the yapping starts. I spent $5K to replace my late 2013 27” iMac with a Mac Studio Max and Studio Monitor and I’m glad I did. This will be my primary machine for the foreseeable future.
    Oh yes you spent much more money than the average person ever will on a single computer therefore no one can complain about prices ever. 

    The world doesn’t revolve around you dear. 
    uraharaomasoumuthuk_vanalingam9secondkox2WhiskeyAPPLEciderneo-techM68000bala1234elijahglkrupp
  • Reply 9 of 37
    ApplePoorApplePoor Posts: 291member
    The Apple prices are certainly getting out of sight and  perhaps out of touch with the financial reality as interest rates continue upwards. 

    Out of interest, I entered details to order the current M2 iPad 11 2TB and said wanted to trade in my M1 iPad 11 2TB.  They were offering only $345 for a nearly  two year old device that listed for over $1,869.     Had similar treatment on trading in the 2020 M1 13" MBA 16GB & !TB SSD.                                                                                                                     
    elijahg
  • Reply 10 of 37
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,027member
    They might be more expensive, but I have very serious doubts that Apple will raise the price anything close to 80%.  Just the PR alone (even on some kind of "ultra" model) would be really bad.  In fact, the conclusion about such a price increase doesn't make sense.  According to AI:

    According to sources cited by TheElec, the cost of the OLED panel from suppliers could be two to three times the price of existing OLED panels of the same size. While an existing 10-inch OLED panel could cost $100 to $150 apiece, the price of the component for an 11-inch iPad Pro could be around $270, rising to $350 for a 12.9-inch panel.


    It's not clear to me what the current cost of the 11 inch Pro screen is.  But, let's say it's $150, the high end of the "existing 10 inch OLED panel."  Let's say it doubles to $300.  And let's say the 12.9" model costs $250, and increases to $400. 

    • The 11 inch iPad Pro starts at $800.  Of that, we are saying 19% is LED component cost.   
    • The 12.9 inch starts at $1100.  Of that, we are saying 22% is LED component cost.  
    • If the price was unchanged, the new costs would be: 11 inch/$300/37.5% and 12.9 inch/$400/37%. 
    • If Apple simply passed on the increased component cost directly, the new numbers would be: 
    • 11 inch starting $950. OLED is 31.5% of the cost.   12.9 inch is now $1250 and 32% of the cost.  

    The only way you get close to an 80% overall price increase is if Apple insists on the same component cost as a percentage of the total product.  To accomplish that, they'd have to raise the 11 inch to over $1300 and the 12.9 inch to over $1800.  But of course, that makes no sense.  The profit margin is the important piece.  If Apple simply passes on the raw cost increase to maintain the profit margin, the increases would be 16% and 12%.   Even if they have another $100 increase in other components per model (for whatever component you like), we're still at a 24% increase per model.   

    Given all of that as well a the aforementioned PR/market reasons, I would expect a price increase more in the neighborhood of 15-25%, which is still significant.  So, I don't think the data is the problem with this article.  It's the conclusion that doesn't seem to make sense.   
    neo-techackpfftApplejacswatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 37
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,026member
    An iPad that costs as much as a MacBook Pro completely loses the plot. 

    Huge iPad fan here as using it is very convenient for consumer use and freehand art creation. But my MacBook Pro is the heavy lifter. The form factor lends itself to better ergonomics for long work hours as well as entertainment. Using both together is a nice complementary experience. 

    But in no way is the iPad on the same level of power nor of usefulness, even with the expensive accessory attachments. 

    An Apple Pencil enabled touchscreen MacBook Pro makes more sense than an iPad trying to be a MacBook Pro - and wouldn’t cost much to make it happen. Not so with the iPad. 


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 37
    TheObannonFileTheObannonFile Posts: 113member
    wallym said:
    I'm sure that oled screens are great and awesome.  So is the screen on my $449 ipad.  I just don't see where the marginal value of an oled screen will drive a higher net profit on ipads.  Assuming the galaxy tab s8 devices have oled screens and are at current comparable prices, I don't see how the ipad pro models can justify a 60-80% price increase in many people's eyes.  yes, some will buy it.  however, I think the price increase also forces people down to the ipad air or regular ipad.
    This exactly. 
    DAalsethCheeseFreezeelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 37
    SkepticalSkeptical Posts: 183member
    Apple has jumped the shark. -SMH-
    DAalseth
  • Reply 14 of 37
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,130member
    Still just a rumor, of course. But it might make sense for Apple to do what they have with the Watch, offering premium lines with specific niche attributes at a much higher price for the relatively small number of people for whom price is no object. As many have noted, the current screen technology is already excellent, so most users would be fine with a lower priced model incorporating that, as long as the stuff that matters most is also included. In the same way, I wouldn’t be upset if they offered a gold-plated model at a big markup, because somebody would buy it, just not I.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 37
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,480member
    Definitely won't buy iPad Pro at that price. No way. 
    Japheyentropysdutchlord
  • Reply 16 of 37
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,280member
    kmarei said:
    Galaxy tab S8 + has a 12.4" oled screen and starts at $899 for Wi-Fi version
    and galaxy tab s8 ultra has a 14.6" oled screen and starts at $1099
    ipads are already pricier than their competitors 
    I doubt many people would buy it at laptop prices 
    Samsung doesn’t care about quality if they can get away with selling you cheaper that’s part of the difference between Samsung and Apple, if Apple wants two layers, it’s probably because they’re trying to make up for the inherent problems of oled.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 37
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,280member
    clemynx said:
    lkrupp said:
    Every time the topic of price comes up the yapping starts. I spent $5K to replace my late 2013 27” iMac with a Mac Studio Max and Studio Monitor and I’m glad I did. This will be my primary machine for the foreseeable future.
    Oh yes you spent much more money than the average person ever will on a single computer therefore no one can complain about prices ever. 

    The world doesn’t revolve around you dear. 
    But if you are a long time Appleinsider, you should be investing in Apple, and using some of the proceeds of that investment to buy the devices that they make? Appleinsider is a great source of information about Apple before most of the general public ie..Wall Street gets wind of it.
    Applejacswatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 37
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,027member
    DAalseth said:
    Dear Apple:
    When did you stop being The Computer for the Rest of Us? I mean, there has been the Apple Tax for ages, but for a long time if you matched feature for feature it would disappear. Now though you just keep driving prices up and up. I mean $3k laptops are cool and all, but even your Mini has climbed steeply. More importantly the price has become prohibitive for a lot of The Rest of Us.  When I got my M1 iPad Pro a bit over a year ago, I really had to scrape to make it. Now you are looking at ~20% above that? For an OLED display that few outside of the technoratti either want or could even tell the difference? Looks like my next iPad will be an Air. I’ll just have to deal with the small screen and that’s assuming you don’t double the price by the time I need to replace the one I have. The replacement for my iMac? Well the new iMac is great and all, but it’s outside of what I can swing. I’m eying a base Mini and external FW drives rather than your exorbitantly priced storage. Actually today I started pondering if for what I NEED the Mac for I might be able to get by with a cheap Linux box. I’d lose all the ‘nice’ functions I use the Mac for on the side, but I could get by.

    Apple; you’re leaving The Rest of Us behind. 

    There is nothing new about Apple's pricing schemes.  If anything, they are far more affordable.  I bought a Pismo Powerbook in 2000.  It was like $3500.  A year ago I bought a MBP 14".  It was less than $2500.  Take inflation into account and one sees Apple hasn't jacked prices up...quite the opposite.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 37
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,772member
    danox said:
    clemynx said:
    lkrupp said:
    Every time the topic of price comes up the yapping starts. I spent $5K to replace my late 2013 27” iMac with a Mac Studio Max and Studio Monitor and I’m glad I did. This will be my primary machine for the foreseeable future.
    Oh yes you spent much more money than the average person ever will on a single computer therefore no one can complain about prices ever. 

    The world doesn’t revolve around you dear. 
    But if you are a long time Appleinsider, you should be investing in Apple, and using some of the proceeds of that investment to buy the devices that they make? Appleinsider is a great source of information about Apple before most of the general public ie..Wall Street gets wind of it.
    Lol. You think Applesider gets their information before Wall Street? I hate to ruin that illusion, but they absolutely do not. 
  • Reply 20 of 37
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,280member
    This is an example of what Apple tried to do in the past and times with their displays.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c3_D8tt14s
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