Upcoming OLED iPad Pro tablets might not cost you as much as earlier rumors suggested
Sometime this quarter (which runs to the end of March), we could see Apple unveil its eagerly-awaited iPad Pro refresh. The 11-inch and 13-inch tablets are expected to feature OLED displays for the first time on any iPad model. Originally, it was believed that consumers would have to pay through the nose for the new top-of-the-line iPads with rumors calling for the 11-inch unit to be priced at $1,500 and the 13-inch model to cost a whopping $1,800.
Apple fans have already suffered through enough sticker shock with the $3,499 and up pricing for the Vision Pro spatial computer so any relief on that front for the new iPad Pro (2024) models would be welcome. DigiTimes (via MacRumors) reports that price hikes for the new iPad Pro tablets will be limited to $160. The 11-inch iPad Pro (2022) starts at $799. A $160 or 20% price hike would take the tag on that tablet up to $959 and up. The 12.9-inch tablet, equipped with a mini-LED display and currently offered at $1,099 and up, would sport a slightly larger 13-inch screen and carry a $1,259 and up price tag; the $160 price hike would result in a 15% increase.
The current 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a mini-LED display
Apple will be spending more on the OLED panels which explains why we could see the pricing adjustment for the iPad Pro (2024). For users, the new screens will deliver greater contrast, higher brightness, deeper blacks, and improved viewing angles. 60% of the OLED panels are reportedly being sourced from LG Display while the remaining 40% is coming from Samsung Display. A previous report claimed that for the new iPad Pro's OLED displays, Apple will pay three times what it cost the company to obtain the OLED panels used on the iPhone.
It should be noted that the current version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro uses a mini-LED display which reduces the possibility of static content leaving screen burn-in. It also has some attributes of an OLED panel including better contrast and improved brightness. The current 11-inch version of the iPad Pro is equipped with an LCD display.
Besides the improvement to the displays, the new iPad Pro tablets are expected to be powered by Apple's 3nm M3 chip. We also could see MagSafe charging added to Apple's premium iPad units for the first time. The Magic Keyboard accessory is also being redesigned to make an iPad Pro using the updated QWERTY keyboard look more like a laptop computer than a tablet.
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