Samsung to use Chemtronics for back-end etching of OLED iPads

Samsung Display will be using Chemtronics as its vendor to handle the back-end etching of OLED panels it plans to supply to Apple for iPads, according to a report from the Korean website, The Elec. Chemtronics will purportedly be the sole vendor for the process, sources said.

The Elec says that Samsung Display and LG Display are gearing up to start production of OLED panels for iPads that will launch next year. Apple is rumored to be planning iPad Pros with iOLED for release in 2024 and Mac laptops with OLED panels starting in 2026.

The tech giant’s timing could be good. In a January report, Counterpoint Research said that, unlike the mass adoption of OLED panels that has happened in other devices, the use of OLED in tablets has only been pursued by a handful of manufactures so far. However, the research group thinks this will change. 

Samsung, one of the earliest adopters of OLED in tablets, started in 2014 but the shift proved ineffective in convincing its competitors to adopt the same. However, Counterpoint says that, with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and its role in increasing the importance of multimedia, tablet displays have progressively gained prominence. 

The market, which still predominantly consists of LCD panels, is starting to show all the necessary prerequisites for the expanded adoption of OLED in the tablet industry, according to Counterpoint.