A new report claims that single-layer OLED screens will appear on the iPad Air, 8.7-inch and iPad Mini in 2026, and a new generation of 12.9-inch iPad Air will appear in 2027. According to reports, Apple has been working on switching to OLED screens for iPad Pro for some time. The latest rumors claim that the 2024 iPad Pro and 2026 MacBook Pro will use this display technology.
It has also been reported that Apple will later use OLED technology on iPad Air and iPad Mini.
South Korean publication ETNews has now backed up these claims and added more specific details. It said that following the launch of iPad Pro in 2024, both iPad Air and iPad mini will adopt single-layer OLED screens in 2026.
The report also said that in 2027, Apple will use OLED screens in the revised iPad Pro and the new 12.9-inch iPad Air.
It is worth noting that the iPad Pro was previously expected to use a dual-layer OLED screen. Although OLED can improve contrast and brightness, its effective life is shorter, and using a double-layer OLED screen can greatly extend the effective life.
Compared with single-layer OLED screens, the improvement of double-layer OLED screens is enough for Apple to change suppliers to obtain this screen. Samsung is said to have initially refused to develop a dual-layer structure just for Apple, and was therefore left out of the company's plans. However, within months, Samsung was said to have prioritized the development of a two-layer system in an effort to regain Apple's orders.
ETNews does not have details about the dual-layer display being used in any model, but it claims that the 2027 iPad Pro revision will use "a next-generation panel that improves the panel's light efficiency through color filter encapsulation (CoE)." This will reduce power consumption by 20%. It can also support under-screen cameras and can be used for FaceID.
One oddity in the ETNews report is that the 2026 iPad mini's screen appears to be listed as 8.7 inches, rather than the current model's regular 8.3 inches.