The next iPad Pro is expected in the coming weeks—read full details here of exactly when. But it looks like one of the most exciting thing about the iPad Pro, it’s adoption of an OLED screen for the first time, has just been revealed. The revelation comes from a remarkably reliable source: Apple.
According to 9to5Mac, there are clues in the upcoming software release, iPadOS 17.5, which reveal the details. The software is only in developer and public beta just now, and expected to hit general release next month.
It seems that the software has “new display firmware for four new iPad models.” These are referenced only in code as iPad16,3, iPad16,4, iPad 16,5 and iPad 16,6. These seem to correlate with what is expected, that is, an iPad Pro with 11-inch screen in two versions, one with wifi and one with cellular connection, plus two models with a larger screen, around 12.9 inches, again in two versions, one with cellular, one with wifi.
The firmware, it seems, “suggests that these iPads will be equipped with OLED displays and also corroborates that there will be different suppliers for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions.”
This fits with previous rumors that LG would make the displays for the larger iPad Pro, while LG and Samsung share duties for the panels on the smaller model.
But what of the predicted Apple iPad Air, rumored to land at the same time and in two screen sizes for the same time? Does the absence mean there are no new Airs in prospect?
That’s not a conclusion you can draw here because these references touch on OLED screens, and the new Air models, assuming they arrive at the same time, are expected to maintain the same Liquid Retina display technology found on the current models, and that’s LCD, not OLED.
This in-depth analysis of the iPadOS code has yielded other information that Apple may not want us to have yet, such as an all-new Apple Pencil. The indication is that this accessory will have an all-new action, where you can squeeze it to activate certain functions.
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