Apple iPad Pro: Arrival of slimmer bezels rumoured soon thanks to Tandem OLED display upgrades

The iPad Pro arguably received its most significant upgrade in generations last year with the introduction of the Apple M4-based 11-inch and 13-inch versions (curr. $928.99 - refurbished on Amazon). Not only did the iPad Pro (7th generation) showcase Apple's M4 chipset, but it also brought Tandem OLED panels to the series for the first time. According to new reports, Apple is considering making further display improvements soon, too.

On the one hand, DigiTimes suggests that Apple has added LX Semicon to its supply chain for future iPad Pro releases. Apparently, Apple has tasked LX Semicon with developing a new display driver IC, which the former hopes to finalise usage of within the next week or so. Incidentally, the change would see Apple diversifying from Samsung System LSI in this regard, which currently enjoys exclusivity over display driver ICs for all iPad Pro (7th generation) tablets.

On the other hand, The Elec claims that Apple hopes to complement LX Semicon's display driver IC with LG Innotek's chip-on-film (CoF) technology. In short, CoF technology would use heat to attach display driver ICs to a flexible film. The resulting change could provide Apple with more space with which to shrink display bezels.

Potentially, this could be achieved by either expanding display sizes within the same chassis or shrinking its 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pros. Neither DigiTimes or The Elec shed any light on the proposed introduction of these display upgrades. However, the suggestion that Apple plans to approve a new display driver IC this month indicates that these changes may be held off beyond the iPad Pro (8th generation), which is expected to land with an Apple M5 chipset.