There’s still hope for OLED iPads as supplier LG expands plant in South Korea

LG is planning to double the capacity of its small and medium-sized OLED plants in Paju, South Korea, as the company expects to be used as a supply chain for Apple’s iPhones and iPads displays.

It’s not from today that we’ve seen reports of an OLED iPad. Although analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said that Apple is not planning to add OLED to an iPad anytime soon, this could change starting in 2023 or even 2024.

In today’s Korea IT News report, “LG is preparing large-scale facilities for new production lines of 6th generation OLEDs in Paju this fall.”

Reports indicate that by 2024, the production capacity of panels of 6th generation or older will increase to more than 700,000 sheets per year. LG Display operates P9 plants for smartphones and their P10 plant for information technology (IT) related devices, including tablets.

(…) Large-scale expansion plans take into account the supply of panels for Apple’s next smartphone and tablet. Apple has a target of selling more than 300 million smartphones this year.

The publication says “it’s predicted that OLED application to iPads will begin in two days,” and “since the iPad contains OLED panels that are wider than the iPhone, it is expected to be a new opportunity for LG Display’s OLED business.”

Last week, The Elec published that Apple is still in discussion with Samsung Display in regards to making screens for an OLED model. 

Samsung Display will need an order of substantial volume from Apple to expand its Gen 8.5 (2200x2500mm) IT OLED panels this year […] Samsung Display is developing the technology for Apple to meet their requirements at technology and price for the panels […]

The pair had collaborated on a project to develop a 10.86-inch OLED iPad last year, which was halted during the third quarter. Apple had wanted panels with a two stack tandem structure – where it has two emission layers – instead of the conventional single stack structure.

Although Samsung and LG are betting that Apple will eventually introduce an OLED iPad, we’ll have to wait and see, as the company still bets in LCD for the base model and the iPad Air, while rumors indicate that the company plans to expand the microLED technology with two new iPad Pro models.

Do you think Apple will ever launch an OLED iPad? Would you like that? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.