Bonkers report says 2024 iPad Pro models will use LCD displays, not OLED

For some time now the word on the street has been to expect the 2024 iPad Pro tablets to sport OLED panels replacing the LCD display on the 11-inch unit and the mini-LED screen on the 12.9-inch unit. Back in July, when the days were longer and the temperatures higher, everything was on track according to those in the know. And five months before that, Samsung Display and LG Display reportedly inked deals with Apple to supply it with the OLED panels.

A bonkers new report from DigiTimes (via MacRumors) cites an industry source as saying that Apple is putting the OLED makeover for its most premium tablet line on hold. Instead, Apple will no longer use the mini-LED backlighting for the larger-screened unit and both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models will use LCD backlighting. Based on Apple's own naming system, the mini-LED screen was called the "Liquid Retina XDR display," while both displays will now reportedly feature the LCD-based "Liquid Retina Display."

The report from DigiTimes, which strikes out as often as it hits a home run, said that the higher production costs of using mini-LED backlighting were a "hurdle for broader industry adoption." We note though, that the question here is whether Apple is switching the iPad Pro to OLED, not moving the 11-inch model to mini-LED. The report also says that Apple's pivot back to LCD backlighting "could be motivated by the company's focus on scalability and market penetration."

The decision to equip both iPad Pro (2024) units with LCD backlighting will delay the start of production, says the report, from early next month to "early 2024 at the latest." The article also confuses readers by stating that "Apple might launch a new iPad Pro with AMOLED displays earliest in 2024, sourcing mainly from Samsung Display and LG Display." That sounds exactly like the OLED iPad Pro that we've been expecting this year and it isn't clear whether that passage should have been stricken from the story.

Considering DigiTimes' track record and what moving the 12.9-inch iPad Pro from mini-LED to LCD would imply, we would not give much credence to the story without evidence from reliable sources.