OLED iPad Mini Display in Testing Reportedly Made by Samsung

Apple is currently evaluating a new small-sized OLED display for its next iPad mini model, according to a Chinese leaker with sources in Apple's supply chain.

Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station recently made the claim in a brief preview of upcoming tablets from different brands. The leaker went on to say that the OLED display in question is made by Samsung, but that they remain unsure if it features a higher refresh rate than the 60Hz LCD display used in the existing iPad mini 7.

Reports last year claimed that Apple requested OLED display panels designed for future iPad mini models from its suppliers.

In May 2024, it was reported that Samsung Display had started developing sample 8-inch OLED panels for a future ‌iPad mini‌, with plans to initiate mass production at its facility in Cheonan in the second half of 2025. The same report claimed that Apple will bring an OLED panel to the iPad Air alongside the ‌iPad mini‌ in 2026.

That outlook differs slightly from a December report by analyst firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) that said an 8.5-inch OLED iPad mini is planned for a 2026 launch, while 11-inch and 13-inch OLED iPad Air models are expected to follow in 2027.

OLED panels have the ability to individually control each pixel on the screen, and that allows them to reproduce color with more precision and to achieve deeper blacks compared with other, more common display technologies. They also provide superior contrast, faster response times, better viewing angles, and more flexibility in design. All of Apple's top-of-the-line iPhones use OLED panels, and in May 2024 Apple debuted the display technology on the iPad Pro for the first time.

When it comes to brightness, there is definitely a difference between the iPad mini, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro models. For one, the former two may be dimmer than the latter. The two are also notable for not having a feature that's present on the Pro models: ProMotion. The iPad Pro models feature two-stack low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED panels, while the iPad mini and the iPad Air may have single-stack low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) panels.