The next iPad mini should swap LCD for OLED display, but don’t expect ProMotion
Apple is allegedly evaluating a new OLED display for the next iPad mini, but it’s unclear whether the tablet will drop this fall or in 2026.
We don’t know which iPad models Apple will decide to equip with OLED panels next following the current iPad Pro, which debuted a tandem OLED design with two OLED panels in May 2024. Since then, no other iPads have switched to OLED.
MacRumors highlighted a Weibo post by Digital Chat Station, a Chinese leaker with sources in Apple’s supply chain, claiming that Samsung’s display-making arm will produce OLED panels for the next iPad mini. The leaker claims Apple is currently “evaluating” a small-sized OLED display for the device.
The next iPad mini should get an OLED display.
It’s unclear whether an iPad mini featuring OLED will arrive this year or in 2026. For context, the current seventh-generation model was released in October 2024.
For what it’s worth, analyst firm Display Supply Chain Consultants claimed in December 2024 that Apple was working to expand OLED to additional iPads, including an OLED iPad mini expected to launch in 2026. It also predicted that the next iPad Air, expected in 2027, will get OLED, too.
A May 2024 report claimed Samsung Display had begun developing sample 8-inch OLED panels for the next iPad mini, with plans to mass produce them at its facility in Cheonan in the second half of 2025. However, the first iPad mini and iPad Air models with OLED won’t arrive before 2026, the report added.
Apple devices with OLED displays
The only Apple devices with OLED as of right now are the iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad Pro. With OLED, there’s no backlight as the technology emits light through each pixel, so the display can be thinner. The iPad Pro is the thinnest device Apple has built to date because it ditched the previous mini-LED backlight for OLED. Aside from a thinner display assembly, other OLED benefits include deeper blacks, more vibrant colors, enhanced HDR, increased contrast and higher resolutions.
The next iPad mini is likely to use a single OLED panel, as opposed to the iPad Pro’s tandem OLED comprising two-stack OLED panels. As a result, the device certainly won’t match the brightness of the iPad Pro’s display which can go to 1000 nits max full screen brightness or 1600 nits peak brightness for HDR content only.
The next iPad Pro may lack ProMotion, Apple’s dynamic screen refresh technology that can boost the refresh rate all the way up to 120Hz for smooth animations, scrolling, etc. The existing seventh-generation iPad mini has a 60Hz screen.
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