Cheaper iPad with OLED display set to launch in the $599 Air series with single-stack panel

Apple is reportedly taking the next logical step in its display roadmap with the thin and light iPad Air getting an OLED screen.

According to South Korean display industry sources, Samsung is planning to start mass production of OLED panels for the iPad Air as early as the end of this year, ahead of a device launch expected next spring for the iPad Air 2027 edition.

That would make the Air the fourth Apple IT product to make the LCD-to-OLED jump, following the iPad Pro 11 and 13-inch models in 2024, as the iPad Mini is also expected to make the OLED pilgrimage, perhaps as soon as the 2026 edition. The cheapest vanilla iPad will be remaining on LED-backlit LCD for now, as could be expected at its $349 price point.

What makes the Air transition interesting are the panel's specifications. To keep manufacturing costs low, the upcoming iPad Air OLED is expected to use a single-stack emissive layer, an LTPS TFT backplane, and a hybrid substrate. This is a cost-effective solution designed to keep the price tag away from iPad Pro levels as the current iPad Air starts from $599, with Amazon now offering it at a discount.

The OLED iPad Pro's pricing reportedly dampened demand more than Apple anticipated, and it obviously doesn't want to repeat that with its more popular iPad line. The iPad Air has historically outsold the Pro by a large margin, and a more affordable OLED configuration should only amplify that gap. Samsung Display and LG Display currently split the OLED supply for the iPad Pro, and both could benefit from the expanded rollout as Apple requires much lower specs for the Air panel.

Total OLED tablet demand is projected to be 13 million in 2026, with Apple accounting for roughly two-thirds of that figure, and, with the advent of the OLED iPad Air, that number is poised to grow to 21 million, boding well for Apple's LCD-to-OLED transition roadmap.