It’s long been rumored the upcoming iPad Pro 2024 will come with an OLED display — the first iPad to do so. While Apple unsurprisingly hasn’t confirmed this upgrade officially, code found in the iPadOS 17.5 beta seems to suggest it’ll definitely be happening.
During a dive into the code for the beta, 9to5Mac found references to 4 unreleased iPad models. These are labeled iPad 16,3, iPad 16,4, iPad 16,5 and iPad 16,6. The site believes these are identifiers for the upcoming iPad Pro 2024, and correspond to two different model sizes in Wi-Fi and cellular variants.
The firmware also suggests that these iPads will launch with OLED displays, and that the two different-sized screens will come from different suppliers. That last point doesn't really matter for the average consumer, but rumor is that LG is responsible for the 12.9-inch panels, while the 11-inch panels will reportedly come from both LG and Samsung.
But the fact that Apple is finally upgrading to OLED is the important part, and means the new iPad Pros should offer all the benefits that iPhones have enjoyed for the past several years.
OLED displays are known for offering significantly better picture quality than their LCD counterparts. The displays are known for offering better contrast, deeper blacks and richer colors, as well as much better viewing angles. OLEDs can also be applied directly to glass and don’t require a separate backlight, as a result those displays are able to be both thinner and more energy efficient.
Recent reports suggest Apple has had issues manufacturing the OLED panels needed for the new iPad Pros, leading to a number of delays. It was originally expected that the two tablets would arrive in March, alongside the MacBook Air M3, which obviously didn’t happen. However Mark Gurman has recently claimed that the tablets could launch on the week of May 6.
Other upgrades on the way are said to include the new Apple Pencil 3, an upgraded Magic Keyboard as well as Apple’s M3 chipset — the same one found in recent Macs,
A new iPad Air 2024 is also supposed to be on the way, but strangely 9to5Mac doesn’t mention any references to this tablet from the beta. While it’s still unconfirmed we are expecting the new model to launch next month alongside the iPad Pro 2024 models. While the new iPad Air isn’t expected to get the same OLED upgrade as the Pro, one model is expected to come with a larger 12.9-inch display.
We’ll have to wait a little while longer before Apple will confirm all these details for us, but in the meantime you can check out all the latest news and updates in our iPad Pro 2024 and iPad Air 2024 hubs.
