iPad Pro M5 tipped for upcoming launch as Apple begins production on OLED displays

iPad Pro in portrait mode
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

It appears that both Samsung and LG have started mass production of OLED displays for the M5 iPad Pro, which looks to confirm the rumored October release date.

It appears that both Samsung and LG will produce both sizes of display, according to a report from ZDNet Korea (via MacRumors.) The last generation of OLED iPad Pros saw Samsung produce the 11-inch OLED display, while LG produced the 13-inch display. This change is likely to help Apple diversify its suppliers, which would help with the rumored launch of the 2026 iPad Mini and the 2027 iPad Air with OLED panels.

This isn’t the only news we’ve seen that indicates that Apple is preparing to release the tablet later this year. For instance, Mark Gurman claimed that the iPad Pro had entered the advanced testing phase back in March. Not only that, we saw a report that stated Apple was starting the mass production of the M5 chip back in February. If these are accurate, then it suggests that the tablet is essentially ready to be released to the public.

What do we know about the iPad Pro?

iPad Pro 2024 propped on a bench

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Aside from the OLED panels, we haven’t seen many reports about significant updates for the new iPad Pro, with Gurman suggesting we'll have to wait until next year for those. However, the M5 chip is expected to offer improved graphics and an enhanced Neural Engine, which would be a big benefit to Apple Intelligence.

Due to reported delays to Apple’s 2nm process work, we’re expecting the M5 will be made on the same 3nm process as the M4 and M3 chips. But Apple not using an advanced chip-manufacturing method shouldn't impact the chances of the next iPad Pro making our best iPads list too much.

The M5 chip isn't just for the iPad Pro, as we’re also expecting a revised MacBook Pro to launch with the M5 chip around the same time. But for OLED fans, unfortunately we're hearing that the rumored MacBook OLED display overhaul likely won’t appear until 2026. When it does release, we’d expect to see a pretty impressive visual improvement, alongside longer battery life, as we've seen with the OLED iPad Pro.

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Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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