Apple is expected to replace the LCD screens in both sizes of the iPad Air with OLED panels in the first half of 2027, according to DigiTimes. This is a supply-chain rumor, not an Apple announcement.
The idea has been around for a while. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in October 2025 that Apple was developing an OLED iPad Air and that it was unlikely to arrive before 2027. He has since narrowed that to the first half of 2027. The DigiTimes report adds shipment estimates and details on how panel orders could be split.
The estimates: 4 million to 5 million units each for the iPad Air and the iPad mini, and 3 million to 4 million for the iPad Pro. The Air and Pro figures each cover both screen sizes. On supply, Samsung could become Apple's largest supplier of OLED iPad panels overall if it wins orders for the Air and mini, while LG Display is expected to keep the lead for the Pro.
The Air is expected to use the same single-stack OLED design as the iPad mini, with a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) backplane, the transistor layer that drives the pixels. The Pro uses two light-emitting stacks to boost brightness and reportedly a different backplane type, LTPO. DigiTimes previously reported the Air would stay at 60Hz, which would leave ProMotion, Apple's higher refresh rate feature, exclusive to the Pro.
The Air would be Apple's third OLED iPad line, after the Pro in 2024 and the 8.5-inch mini that went on sale November 6. That sequence matters. The Pro went first, and by these estimates it would end up the smallest of the three in volume. Its forecast is well below its reported pre-launch target of around 10 million units a year, and industry sources pointed to price as a factor in weaker demand.
Taken at face value, the numbers suggest OLED volume will come from the cheaper tablets, while the Pro is left to defend its place with brightness and refresh rate.