11-inch OLED iPad Pro (2024) faces shortages at launch because of Samsung

Last month, Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) noted that shipments of the OLED panels for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2024) had been higher than the shipments of OLED displays for the 11-inch variant of Apple's top-of-the-line tablet. That would seem to indicate that it might be harder for consumers to find an 11-inch iPad Pro when the tablets are released.

As we reported earlier today, Apple will hold an event on May 7th called "Let Loose" to announce the new iPad Pro (2024) series, the first iPad tablets to be equipped with an OLED display. At the same time, Apple will unveil the iPad Air (2024) which will add a 12.9-inch model to the traditional 10.9-inch tablet. Both tablets will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera and be powered by upgraded chips (the 3nm M3 for the iPad Pro (2024) line and the 5nm M2 for the iPad Air (2024) series).

According to Young, Samsung has run into problems producing OLED panels using the "two-stack" technology that deposits in tandem two OLED layers that doubles the brightness of the screen and makes the display last longer. Both Samsung and LG are producing the OLED displays for the 11-inch iPad Pro (2024) while LG should end up responsible for all of the OLED panels found on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2024).

9to5Mac says that the drivers for both the LG and Samsung-made OLED panels will be included in the software that comes with the new iPad Pro tablets. And because OLED is thinner than LCD displays, the new iPad Pro models should be thinner. We will learn everything on May 7th. Originally, it was expected that Apple would simply issue a news release to mark the unveiling of the new iPads, something that Apple often does when announcing new tablets. Apple will hold the "Let Loose" event on May 7th starting at 10 am EDT (7 am PDT), much earlier than usual.

Besides the new tablets, we should see Apple introduce a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro that makes the tablet look more like a laptop. The accessory also will be sturdier thanks to a new aluminum frame. A new Apple Pencil is expected to announced during the event and it is tipped to include a new squeeze gesture.