Apple still on track for iPad Pro revamp with OLED display in 2024
Apple may be planning a "major iPad Pro revamp," which could include a new OLED display -- but it likely won't occur until 2024.
The 2022 12.9-inch iPad Pro on the Magic Keyboard
Apple's iPad Pro lineup was refreshed with Apple's M2 chip in October 2022, but the design has largely remained the same over the last several years.
In Sunday's edition of Power On, Mark Gurman suggests that 2023 will be a relatively uneventful year for iPad. As a result, if his report is accurate, there will be no significant upgrades to the iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, or entry-level iPad.
However, Gurman believes that Apple may be planning a notable revamp for the iPad Pro that could happen in early 2024. He suspects the tablet will get an "updated design," and reiterates rumors that have been circulating for about 18 months about incorporation of an OLED display.
Gurman doesn't state exactly what the updated design might entail, though several analysts have suggested that the iPad Pro will get an OLED display, perhaps with dry etching, by 2024.
Some rumors claimed that the iPad Pro lineup would get microLED display technology by 2024, a report now suggests that the technology will first come to the Apple Watch Ultra in 2024. The rest of Apple's devices, including its iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineup, could get microLED starting in 2025.
Read on AppleInsider
The 2022 12.9-inch iPad Pro on the Magic Keyboard
Apple's iPad Pro lineup was refreshed with Apple's M2 chip in October 2022, but the design has largely remained the same over the last several years.
In Sunday's edition of Power On, Mark Gurman suggests that 2023 will be a relatively uneventful year for iPad. As a result, if his report is accurate, there will be no significant upgrades to the iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, or entry-level iPad.
However, Gurman believes that Apple may be planning a notable revamp for the iPad Pro that could happen in early 2024. He suspects the tablet will get an "updated design," and reiterates rumors that have been circulating for about 18 months about incorporation of an OLED display.
Gurman doesn't state exactly what the updated design might entail, though several analysts have suggested that the iPad Pro will get an OLED display, perhaps with dry etching, by 2024.
Some rumors claimed that the iPad Pro lineup would get microLED display technology by 2024, a report now suggests that the technology will first come to the Apple Watch Ultra in 2024. The rest of Apple's devices, including its iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineup, could get microLED starting in 2025.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
And how 5:4 is better than 4:3?
11.5 and 14.5 inch versions because I'd like to have the option of a more portable version and a desktop version, as part of an "iPad Pro" lineup. Basically the same reasons why Apple has 11 and 12.9 inch versions. 11.5, well 11.53 inch, and 14.5 inch specifically because that will give you 12 and 15 keys at the typical 0.75" spacing in landscape. And, with the 14.5 in portrait orientation, the software keyboard can have 12 keys, which means you can just have the same size keyboard as a "11.5" in landscape in the portrait orientation of the 14.5. With typical key spacing seen on external keyboards, it makes typing on the software keyboard nice and easy.
Apple has a lot places they can go with the iPad lineup. They are typically quite conservative in what product to bring to market and just doesn't like to do any unusual products. Like a 2.4:1 aspect ration 8" iPad. Movie theater aspect ratio. The width will be small enough to comfortably thumb type, and put in pockets. It can function as an iPod Touch Max.
This wishful thinking for a 11.5 and 14.5 5:4 is also about keeping the iPad Pro as a primarily touch device by making the software keyboard a better experience. The current trend with the Magic Keyboard case is driving more landscape usage of iPad Pros, and therefore is driving it to have wider aspect ratios, and driving more reliance on the MK as an input. It's great and should be supported, but iPads should be touch first.
LCD = monolithic backlight (iPA, iPad, MBA, MBP13, iMac24, ASD27)
miniLED = discretized backlight (MBP14/16, iPP12.9, Pro Display XDR)
OLED = the subpixels are emissive and are the lights, and organic (iPhones, Watch)
microLED = the subpixels are emissive and are the lights, and inorganic
The miniLED in the iPP12.9 and MBP14/16 have backlights that are about 0.25" x 0.25". About 2500 of them. The 32" XDR has about 650 backlights, so much larger. It's a large display though and resultantly expensive. These miniLEDs trade having very high brightness - 1600 nits for HDR content - for some blooming in dark rooms. And they are presumably much longer lived.
The OLEDs trade having no blooming, but are limited by brightness. iPhones have 1200 nits of brightness for HDR content, which is pretty darn good, but they are more fragile than miniLED or LCDs. Using them for 10 years may be a problem due to the organic compounds deteriorating. You can use a computer monitor for 10 years. A phone not so much.
Apple has been trying to get Samsung and LG to make dual-layer OLED displays for Macs and iPads, and probably even external displays too. More robust, can be driven to higher brightness, and will have longer lifetimes. So probably good enough for iPads and Macbooks. These are probably what are driving these iPad and Mac OLED rumors. There's a price per OLED display that everyone is trying to meet, they just haven't got there yet. In the next couple of years probably.
For microLED, where it will be more robust due to using inorganic compounds for the emissive subpixel, it's going to be 4 to 5 years before they can make it affordable for 5 to 30 inch displays. An Apple Watch display in 2025? Maybe. 5 to 30 inch displays at 220 to 350 PPI? Probably another 5 years at least, and there's time for a 3 to 5 year cycle of using OLEDs or miniLEDs.