According to a new report released today, Apple has canceled a joint project with Samsung to use an OLED display developed by Samsung for an upcoming 10.9-inch iPad Air. The elec.
The project was halted due to the OLED panel’s single-battery structure or profitability issues or both, people familiar with the matter said.
The single stack refers to the currently popular OLED panel structure in which red, green, and blue form an emission layer.
Apple wouldn’t be happy with the brightness of single-battery OLED panels and is measured by panel life as well, as consumer iPads typically outlast smartphones, which have a more aggressive upgrade cycle.
Instead, Apple wants to use a two-battery tandem structure for its first OLED iPad that stacks two layers of red, green, and blue emission instead of just one. This doubles the brightness and extends the life of the panel up to four times.
However, Samsung has only released a single-stack structure and, according to the report, is unable or unwilling to ship the dual-stack technology.
Profitability is also seen as a factor in Samsung’s reluctance to deploy the technology. If Samsung cannot be sure that the OLED iPad Air will be sold for a long time, it is not worth preparing the backend module process for the products.
Most of the rumors we’ve heard about an OLED iPad Air suggest it will be released in 2022, and today’s Korean report doubles up this year as a planned launch. In March, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple is expected to start using OLED within the next year. DigiTimes also predicted a release for an OLED iPad in 2022, as did websites like ANDNewsthat rely on supply chain data.
OLED technology is expensive, which has so far limited it to smaller devices like iPhones and Apple Watches. When transferred to the iPad, it brings improved brightness, higher contrast, deeper blacks, and wider viewing angles.
–
