Apple will choose Samsung Display as the main supplier of OLED panels for a new iPad Air, primarily due to its large production capacity compared to rival LG Display, reports The Elec.
Samsung already supplies Apple with OLED panels for the new M4 iPad Pro, which features a tandem design for improved brightness and power efficiency. Today's report adds that Apple will bring an OLED panel to the iPad Air alongside the iPad mini in 2026.
Samsung Display's A3 line, which mass-produces OLED panels for the iPhone and iPad Pro, has a production capacity of 135,000 units per month. In comparison, LG Display's E6-1~3 lines, which produce OLED for the iPhone, have a capacity of only 45,000 units per month, and the E6-4 line, which produces OLED for the iPad, has a capacity of just 15,000 units per month.
Apple's plans to transition the iPad mini and iPad Air to OLED displays are now widely rumored. According to research firm Omdia, the iPad Air is expected to adopt an OLED display in 2026, with the iPad mini following in 2027. However, Korea's ET News and ZDNET Korea both suggest that the two models will be updated with OLED displays simultaneously in 2026, though there's a possibility that Apple might delay the 13-inch iPad Air's OLED upgrade until 2027. While the OLED iPad Air is expected to retain its 11-inch display, the iPad mini's screen could increase in size from 8.3 inches to 8.7 inches.
Unlike the latest iPad Pro models, which use two-stack LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) OLED panels, the iPad mini and iPad Air are expected to feature single-stack LTPS (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) panels. As a result, these displays may be dimmer and continue to lack ProMotion technology, but the lower specifications reduce manufacturing costs.
LG Display has an edge in the mass production of tandem OLED, but this advantage is unlikely to carry over to the iPad Air. Today's Korean report cited an industry source speculating that since Apple needs to increase sales of the OLED iPad Air, it will likely prefer Samsung Display, which can reliably produce large quantities of single-stack OLED panels.
