Samsung Display is investing $3.1 billion in OLED production in South Korea to make advanced OLED panels used in tablets and computers, it said. Reuters:. It’s part of Samsung’s previously announced plan to invest billions in regions outside the South Korean capital Seoul over the next decade.
The importance of this announcement for Apple is due to Samsung’s investment in 8th generation OLED panels. Display analyst Ross Young said that this factory will produce screens with OLED technology for the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
Thus, the analyst reports that Samsung has a “new back-plane approach and a front-plane approach to reduce costs and improve efficiency,” although there is “some technical risk.” Since Samsung is still in the early stages of this OLED technology, Apple’s roadmap for its upcoming MacBook Pro models may change.
The new MacBook and iPad models will use OLED screens
There are currently three products that Apple plans to add an OLED display to in the near future. Notably, the iPad Pro will get this new display in early 2024. Ross Yang previously said that Samsung will be the OLED manufacturer that will use the sixth generation of this technology.
This panel could also be used for the new MacBook Air, which could also get an OLED display by 2024. Since Apple is making two screen sizes for this laptop, we could also see two OLED MacBook Air models next year.
Last but not least, in 2026, Apple will introduce this technology to the high-end MacBook Pro models and ditch the current miniLED screens in favor of more advanced OLED technology.
Korean IT news the report from a few months ago is still relevant to today’s report;
Apple has ordered a domestic display company to develop two types of OLED panels for the iPad and two types of OLED for the MacBook, according to industry reports including Stone Partners on the 18th. Specific panel types are 10.86-inch and 12.9-inch for iPad, and 14-inch and 16-inch for MacBook. Domestic display companies and related parts and materials companies began developing the panels after the official project began. An insider familiar with the matter said: “There are different panels in development, from 10 inches to 16 inches, in progress.”