OLED iPads are reportedly in the works, with Apple potentially launching a massive new iPad Pro model in the future featuring a screen measuring 15 inches diagonally.
HIGHLIGHTS
- BOE is working on 15-inch screens for future OLED iPad models
- Apple has been rumored before to be exploring new iPad sizes
- The project is in the early stages of development
- OLED iPads may include a new 15-inch model
Apple is reportedly researching bigger-screened iPads with larger displays, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculated a while ago, with a potentical launch years away. A new report from Apple’s supply chain indicates that one of the models that Apple could launch as it makes a switch to OLED iPads could feature a 15-inch display.
Chinese company BOE became a third supplier of OLED panels for iPhones, having joined the supply chain for iPhone 13 displays last year. Building on that experience, the company is now hoping to build OLED panels for future iPad models. One of the larger OLED panels that BOE should be able to build in its repurposed factory is said to measure up 15 inches diagonally. Read: How to save iPad battery by restricting ProMotion to 60Hz
If those 15-inch panels are indeed for future iPad Pros rather than MacBooks, then it can be inferred that Apple is at least entertaining the ideas of a 15-inch iPad Pro. The project is in the early stages of development, Korean website The Elec reports. There are no guarantees BOE will ever meet Apple’s standards of quality with OLEDs for tablets.
How would a 15-inch OLED iPad benefit you?
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is Apple’s largest iOS device to date when it comes to screen size. To help you envision the difference in size between the rumored 15-inch iPad Pro and the current 12.9-incher, think about how a 12.9-inch iPad Pro feels like in your hand versus its 11-inch counterpart and you have a pretty good idea of its size.
The question is, what will Apple do with those extra pixels? In the past, increasing screen size and resolution has permitted the company to add new software features like iPad sidebars. At the very least, the extra space is used to show more content, like photos or web pages, without the need to scroll.
Who started the rumor about bigger-screened iPads?
Speculation that Apple may be exploring multiple new screen sizes for the iPad Pro family was first put forth by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In the near future, he said, Apple will continue providing the same eleven and 12.9-inch screen sizes as the current iPad Pros.
I’m told that Apple has engineers and designers exploring larger iPads that could hit stores a couple of years down the road at the earliest. They’re unlikely for next year—with Apple’s attention on a redesigned iPad Pro in the current sizes for 2022—and it’s possible they never come at all. But a big iPad would be the perfect device for many people, including me, and would continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop.
For those wondering, no other credible source or news publication has corroborated Gurman’s reporting at the time of this writing.