As rumors of the new iPhone and new iOS features make their way around the web, there has been a renewed interested in a OLED iPad. Will Apple include the next generation screen technology in future iPads?
OLED And The iPad
While the big news has been about the iPhone, OS X Lion and iOS 5, rumors about the iPad 3 and a potentially smaller version have been cropping up recently. The rumors point to Apple adopting a OLED screen for future iPads.
According to OLED-Info, Apple is in talks with Samsung to use the manufactures next generation OLED screen technology in the iPad 3 which is rumored to arrive later this fall.
Why It May Not Happen
Despite the advantages an OLED equipped iPad would have over other tablets, we may not see the new screen technology in iOS devices for quite some time. The biggest obstacle preventing Apple adopting OLED in the iPad is Samsung’s monthly yields which are limited to 48,000 substrates a month – significantly less than the 1 to 2 Million iPads Apple is shipping every month.
Despite Samsung’s promise to ramp up production of OLED screens to 100,000 substrates by mid 2012, the amount produced won’t be able to keep up with Apple’s demand for screens.
What Is OLED?
OLED screens or Organic Light Emitting Diode function differently than the traditional LCD screen.
OLED screens can function without a backlight thus saving power in devices and can deliver richer blacks. The other advantage OLED screens have is being thinner than LCD displays which would be of interest to Apple as it would lead to smaller iPhones and iPads.
