Apple’s ultra-thin OLED iPad Pro fails to spark sales surge
A new report from the supply chain claims that Apple is developing one new iPad Pro for release in 2025, but that it will be just a spec bump update.
It’s previously been rumored that an updated iPad Pro with an M5 processor will be released in late 2025, though all such reports have presumed the update will be for both the 11-inch and 13-inch models. Now a new report from The Elec describes just one model being updated, but it is still unlikely that it won’t apply to both.
The report in The Elec is focused on a specific OLED component company — LX Semicon — which is said to be hoping to gain approval from Apple for mass production for one device. The company makes Display Driver ICs (DDIs), which is a processor that controls the screen.
Apple has previously used Samsung for the DDI, so it’s probable that LX Semicon is attempting to gain just part of the order.
That’s not certain and it isn’t clear which model this company hopes to help manufacture, but the suggestion is that Apple approval is forthcoming. If approval is granted by March 2025, LX Semicon will start supplying some proportion of DDI orders, and therefore Apple’s reliance on a single source would be reduced.
It’s possible that having more than one supplier would also see competition driving the cost down. This is reportedly what is happening with LX Semicon’s manufacturing of the DDIs for the OLED iPhone 16 range, where it is now facing increased competition from Taiwan’s Novatech.
However, if approval is not granted — because of quality issues, for instance — then it is expected that Samsung will continue to supply all of the iPad Pro’s DDIs for both Samsung Display and LG Display screen manufacturers
Beyond which companies will be producing components, the new report describes the 2025 iPad Pro as a “minor change.”
It’s most likely that the chassis and overall design will remain the same, then. While not specified, the most likely spec bump upgrade is a move to the M5 processor.
Apple launched the M4 with the 2024 iPad Pro models, which were also the first to come with OLED screens. That combination, though, failed to spark the number of upgrade buyers that Apple may have anticipated.
Previously, the iPad Pro was also differentiated from the lower-cost iPad Air by being the only iPad to come in 13 inches. The early 2024 iPad Air update that introduced a larger-screen model may have cannibalized sales of the iPad Pro.
