Apple May Launch OLED iPads By 2028 But Foldables Could Come First: All Details

When it comes to innovation in consumer electronics, Apple often paves the way. However, despite being one of the biggest tech companies in the world, Apple has not forayed into foldable phones and has limited the use of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology.

However, all of this is expected to change, as Appple gears to introduce OLED iPads and foldable phones. According to The Information, Apple is developing two foldable iPhones that will be “as thin as current iPhone models.” These models will be similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip devices.

However, we are unlikely to see foldable phones from Apple before 2026 and OLED iPads by 2028. The Information revealed that Apple engineers are struggling to make its foldable phone’s external screen durable. Apple may collaborate with manufacturers in Asia about procuring parts for foldable iPhones.

The tablet market is more or less a monopoly of Apple, and the company wants to maintain its stronghold on tablet sales by adding OLED iPads. Industry experts suggest that Apple could introduce a single-layer OLED variant of their iPad Air by 2028. While the iPad’s Pro model will have a double-layer OLED.

The Elec reported that at the 2024 Korea Display Conference held in Seoul, researcher Kang Min-soo who works with London-based tech research company Omdia said, “Even if other companies use hybrid OLED (glass substrate + thin film encapsulation), there are not many brands that can surpass Apple’s stronghold. In the tablet market there are not many brands that will aggressively adopt OLED, so global demand for tablet OLED is expected to be somewhat low.”

Kang added that OLED technology will be in most demand in the laptop market and said, “If we divide the future IT OLED market outlook into tablets and laptops, OLED demand in the laptop market will be better than that of tablets.” Currently, Apple does not employ OLED technology in its MacBook models, whereas Samsung, Dell, HP, Asus, Gigabyte and Lenovo have OLED screen laptops.

Last year, Ross Young, the CEO of research firm Display Supply Chain Consultant, said that will take a few years for Apple's supply chain to mass produce laptop-sized OLED panels. Apple might not launch MacBook Pro models with OLED displays to launch until 2026 or 2027.