By Tim Hardwick
According to an updated forecast from research firm Omdia (via The Elec), the iPad Air will be the next Apple tablet to feature OLED display technology, following the upcoming OLED iPad Pro models.
“In 2028, we expect the iPad Air to also go OLED, and the iPad Air to use a single-stack display and iPad Pro using dual-tier tandem OLED displays,” Omdia researcher Kang Min-soo said Thursday at the 2024 Korea Display Conference in Seoul.
The dual-tier tandem structure consists of two LED emitting layers stacked together. A dual-stack OLED design can provide the same level of brightness as a single-stack design, but with significantly lower power consumption and longer lifespan. iPhone currently uses a single-layer OLED display with a single light-emitting layer.
Omdia's latest forecast is an adjustment to a forecast it published earlier this year, which said Apple would launch an 8.3-inch iPad mini and 10.8-inch iPad Air models with OLED displays in 2026.
The research firm seems to be betting that Apple will release a foldable OLED display in the form of a 7-inch tablet in the next few years. An 8-inch device that could eventually replace the 8.3-inch iPad mini. According to a previous report, Apple is considering a launch timeline for such a device between 2026 and 2027. However, the latest report does not mention whether Kang Min Soo has proposed his own timeline.
Apple's Next-Generation OLED Display According to multiple sources, iPad Pro models will be announced within a few weeks. They are rumored to have a thinner design, an M3 chip, improved cameras, MagSafe wireless charging, and an updated Magic Keyboard accessory that makes the iPad Pro more laptop-like.
Apple is also working on two non-OLED versions The iPad Air comes in 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch sizes, the same two sizes as the iPad Pro. These iPad Air models are expected to launch as early as the end of March, along with the new OLED iPad Pro models.
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