OLED iPads: LG's production line allegedly switches to iPhone
Demand for the iPad Pro is said to have dropped so much that supplier LG is switching its display production. But Apple has a need elsewhere.
(Image: Apple)
Apple's supplier LG is reportedly planning to convert its production line for OLED displays, which are used in the iPad Pro and other devices. In addition to panels for tablets and computers, displays for the iPhone are also to be manufactured there in future, reports the South Korean electronics magazine The Elec, citing informed sources.
Apple's first iPad with an OLED display, the iPad Pro, was launched in May 2024. The fact that demand is slowing down therefore does not seem unusual. However, it is of course unclear whether Apple and LG expected this development – or whether the internal sales expectations for the thin new iPad with the particularly high-contrast screen were higher.
Conversion significantly cheaper for LG
From LG's point of view, the changeover is a cost efficiency measure, reports The Elec. This would allow the company to increase its output of iPhone displays without having to build a completely new production line. The cost of this is estimated at around two trillion won, the equivalent of around 1.3 billion euros. The existing line, on the other hand, can be converted with comparatively little effort.
According to the report, the main technical differences between the display types are the substrate and the emission layers: iPad displays use glass substrates with two emission layers, while iPhone displays use polyimide substrates with just one layer. For the changeover, only a few process steps need to be skipped and additional touch components installed.
Apple still has to agree
LG Display plans to produce around 70 million iPhone OLED panels this year –, significantly more than the 60 million or so produced last year. However, the conversion still requires Apple's approval, which is expected by February.
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However, LG's plans indicate that Apple apparently sees no further use for the tandem displays in the short term. This would fit in with rumors that the introduction of OLED displays in MacBooks has been postponed.
(mki)
