Apple to launch iPads and MacBooks with OLED displays

Apple plans to migrate its iPad and MacBook Pro devices from using LCD panels to OLED displays, according to a report by DigiTimes. The company has already adopted OLED for its entire iPhone lineup apart from the iPhone SE, and it now reportedly plans to extend the adoption of this display technology to its other devices.

The report stated that the 10.9-inch iPad will be the next device to use an OLED panel, with the launch of the tablet expected to occur in 2022.

Apple has also put in place a long-terms strategy to transition all of its products to OLED technology, including affecting this change for the iPad Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

OLED display panels are becoming more common across the smartphone and the laptop market, with many manufacturers opting to use the newer display technology due to its improved contrast and greater flexibility.

One of the biggest differences between OLED and LCD displays is the former’s lack of a backlight. LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology has been used for many years and has seen steady improvements in contrast ratio, colour gamut, and more.

This technology comprises a panel filled with liquid crystals that can be changed to output different colours. This is accomplished by altering light from an LED backlight placed behind the panel.

While this is cheaper than OLED technology and can deliver exceptional visual quality, the panels are not as flexible and are generally thicker than OLED screens.

OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) displays comprise a matrix of tiny diodes which emit their own light in response to electric current.

These can have higher contrast ratios than LCD panels, as when diodes output pure black they turn off completely with no backlight bleeding through.

OLED panels can also be bent and flexed, and have subsequently been used in a range of smart devices with unique form factors, from rollable TVs to folding smartphones.