Apple May Choose Samsung Display as Main Supplier for New iPad Air's OLED Panels

TapTechNews August 8th news, according to TheElec, as it has larger LTPS production capacity compared to its competitor LG Display, Apple is considering choosing Samsung Display as the main OLED panel supplier for the new iPad Air.

As known to TapTechNews, Samsung Display is currently supplying OLED panels for the new iPad Pro. The latest report shows that Apple is expected to introduce OLED panels for the iPad Air and iPad mini in 2026, so now various supply chain manufacturers need to start preparing.

The A3 line of Samsung Display is currently mass-producing OLED panels for iPhones and iPad Pros with a monthly capacity of 135,000 pieces. In contrast, LG Display's E6-1~3 lines produce OLED panels for iPhones with a monthly capacity of 45,000 pieces, and the E6-4 line produces OLED for iPads with a monthly capacity of 15,000 pieces.

The market research company Omdia said that Apple's iPad Air product line is expected to start introducing OLED display panels in 2026, and the iPad mini will be introduced in 2027. However, both Korean ETNews and ZDNETKorea stated that these two models will be upgraded to OLED screens simultaneously in 2026, only that Apple may postpone the 13-inch OLED iPad Air to 2027 for release.

It is said that the OLED iPad Air is expected to retain the 11-inch display, while the iPad mini may increase from 8.3 inches to 8.7 inches. Unlike the new iPad Pro, which uses a double-stacked LTPO OLED panel, the iPad mini and iPad Air are expected to adopt a single-stacked LTPS panel. Therefore, these displays may be darker and do not support ProMotion technology, but also achieve a lower cost, which perfectly meets Apple's needs.