Apple has already introduced OLED screens to the iPhone and Apple Watch. Now he’s gearing up to take the same approach to his line of iPads and MacBooks. The company has not yet confirmed this, but one of the suppliers strongly hinted at its appearance. According to a report by The Elec, China’s BOE Technology, a longtime supplier of Apple screens, plans to supply OLED screens for the iPhone. The company is reportedly working on a Gen 8.6 OLED panel production line. It will be installed at the B16 plant in Sichuan, China.
It is also mentioned that the new production line will open by the end of 2024. This means that Apple fans can expect a huge influx of iPads and MacBooks with OLED screens from 2025. Elec, however, confirms that the first set of OLED iPads will arrive in 2024. This will also make BOE the next OLED panel company after Samsung Display and LG Display. There are also rumors that Korean display manufacturers will supply Apple OLED panels for iPad and MacBook models.
BOE competes with Samsung and LG in the race to supply OLED screens to Apple
In case you’re wondering, both Samsung and LG are said to be using Gen 6 production lines for their iPad OLED screens. Once that is done, companies are expected to use Gen 8.5 production lines for other Apple devices with OLED screens that follow the OLED iPad. For those who don’t know, Gen 8.5 production lines can produce more OLED panels than Gen 6 lines. This makes it more cost effective.
The report added that BOE is further testing dual-stack tandem OLED display technology. Theoretically, this technology can provide greater brightness and durability of displays. However, Apple may not use this for the iPhone as users tend to change them every few years compared to the iPad and MacBook.
Transition from IPS, mini LED screen technology
OLED looks set to be Apple’s next big step in terms of displays. Although it is already used in the iPhone and Watch, the iPad still uses mini-LED display technology. We can only see this in the top 12.9-inch iPad Pro model. The new iPad Air and iPad Mini still use IPS and LEDs. Even MacBook models have Liquid Retina XDR screens, which, while not disclosed, say they are based on an LCD panel. Even the company’s 6K Pro Display XDR uses an IPS LCD screen.