Apple’s First OLED iPad Air Will Not Feature Display Tech From Samsung Apparently

Samsung, who is Apple’s chief OLED supplier for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, will not provide the technology giant will panels for the company’s first OLED iPad Air next year. According to the latest report, the reason has to do with both companies being unable to reach an agreement.

Apple Is Reportedly Unhappy With Samsung’s OLED Brightness Levels and Panel Quality, Which May Lead to a Shorter Lifespan of the Next-Generation iPad Air

Samsung has apparently only mass produced a single stack OLED panel structure. What this means is that there is only one emission layer, which The Elec reports can compromise on the overall brightness levels, which Apple is not too pleased about. However, another downside of single stack panel structures is that the OLED iPad Air may have a shorter lifespan as the panel itself might give out in a couple of years.

Unlike smartphones, which customers regularly upgrade to, iPads are kept for a longer period of time, presumably because they can be used as secondary devices. Apple’s plan was to use a double-stack OLED panel structure, which not only increases the brightness two-fold but extend the display’s lifespan by four times the original value. That would not have been a problem for Samsung had the Korean giant mass produced this technology, and there is a reason the company has not pursued this route either.

The report states that profitability was a concern for Samsung, as it was unsure that Apple’s OLED iPad Air would be sold for a long time, which would encourage the manufacturer to allocate research and other monetary efforts to develop this specific panel. To start from scratch to mass produce a brand new display technology would not be beneficial for Samsung, despite having the biggest resources of any manufacturer in this category.

Unlike iPhones, iPad shipments are significantly less, and that alone is not a sufficient motivator for Samsung. The report does not mention who Apple will turn to next, but its other options are LG and BOE. Assuming either one of these can commit to developing double-stack panel structures for Apple without compromising on quality and quantity, we might see the OLED iPad Air next year. If not, then we will update our readers on what comes next, so stay tuned.

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