Apple iPad Air OLED incoming?
An OLED Air is tipped for 2027, but don’t expect the full iPad Pro treatment
If you’re planning on buying one of the best tablets, you might want to hold off on pulling the trigger – new rumours suggest that an Apple iPad Air OLED model is on the way.
A new report courtesy of Korea’s ET News (via MacRumors) claims that Apple is planning to bring OLED displays to the iPad Air, with panels entering mass production towards the end of 2026 or early 2027. That lines up with a likely launch window for the next model in early 2027.
Currently, the iPad Air still uses Apple’s Liquid Retina LCD panel. It’s sharp and bright enough for everyday use, but it’s stuck at 60Hz and lacks the deeper contrast and punchier colours you get from OLED models like the latest iPad Pro.
While the upgrade sounds straightforward on paper, there’s an important detail buried in the report – the iPad Air isn’t expected to get the same OLED tech as the Pro models. Instead of the more advanced dual-layer (two-stack) LTPO panels used in the Pro, Apple is tipped to use a simpler single-layer LTPS OLED.
In practical terms, that likely means you’ll still miss out on features like ProMotion. So while you should see better contrast, deeper blacks, and improved viewing angles, the refresh rate could remain capped at 60Hz. Brightness could also be lower than on the Pro models.
Given that the Air sits between the entry-level iPad and the Pro, this upgrade, if true, should improve the display without matching the top-end Pro model.
Elsewhere, the iPad Mini is widely expected to make the same move to OLED, possibly as soon as its next refresh. If that happens, the standard iPad would be the only model left using an LCD screen.
As always, take all these rumours with a pinch of salt, until all is officially revealed…
Esat Dedezade
Contributor 
