OLED iPads May Finally Arrive In 2024 Under Budding Samsung Deal

According to a new report, Apple's 2024 iPad line could include a major upgrade in the form of a Samsung OLED display, bringing the device's display on par with the smaller iPhone.

Rumors have swirled for years that Apple is working on an OLED iPad. OLED displays offer a substantially better experience than LCD since each pixel has its own illumination instead of relying on backlighting. This allows OLED to display true black and reduce the glowing halo effect that many LCDs experience. The fine-tuned control over illuminated pixels can also lead to improved power efficiency and battery life. In addition, OLED usually generates more vibrant colors than LCD (via Smart Systems).

For a device that is essentially one big screen, it's easy to see why Apple wants to move the iPad to OLED displays. To be fair, the company's mini-LED technology is a major improvement over past models but, at its core, mini-LED is just an improved type of LCD (via CultofMac).

According to a report by The Elec, Apple and Samsung are working to bring an OLED display to the 2024 iPad line.

The two companies had previously collaborated on a 10.86-inch OLED screen for the iPad last year, but that effort was halted in the third quarter. At the time, Samsung was unable to meet some of Apple's technical requirements at a viable price point. Specifically, Apple "wanted panels with a two-stack tandem structure — where it has two emission layers — instead of the conventional single stack structure."

Evidently, the two companies are still negotiating, with Samsung trying to secure a large enough order to bring economy of scale to bear. With enough volume, the electronics manufacturer hopes to avoid the financial factors that doomed the deal last year.

If the two companies reach an agreement, The Elec predicts Samsung will deliver the OLEDs in 2023, in time for Apple to include them in the 2024 model.