With the OLED iPad Pro expected to be announced in the upcoming months, we have heard much about its future specs and features. Now, according to a supply chain report from the Korean blog Naver user yeux1122, Apple is reducing by 30% the number of iPads planned.
The publication says Apple initially ordered 10 million units of its OLED panel, but the order volume was recently adjusted to 7-8 million units. With that, LG Display’s orders were cut in half from the original 6 million to 3 million, while Samsung remained with the previous 4 million units expected.
Interestingly, previous reports have shown that LG was already shipping Apple these panels while Samsung only recently caught up with demand. It’s unclear at this moment why Apple reduced LG’s orders.
That said, yeux1122 once again reports that the price for the upcoming OLED iPad Pro hasn’t been determined, although it’s “likely to rise further than the existing LCD version.” In a previous report, they suggested that the 11-inch model could start at $1,500 and the 13-inch version between $1,800-$2,000.
The news aggregator suggests that the price hike is due to the price of the panels. The average price of a smartphone OLED display is around $50 to $60, while this OLED iPad Pro panel costs at least $200 per unit.
At this moment, it’s unclear if Apple reduced orders because the final price might make customers unsure. If the iPad Pro starts well beyond $1,000, Cupertino will have to focus a lot on marketing to justify a Mac price for a product that is not as helpful as the company’s computers.
While we also expect the M3 chip, a redesign, new accessories, and better cameras, Apple still needs to revamp iPadOS to improve usability. We know the hardware is capable, but the software still lacks Mac’s freedom.
