Shipments of display panels for 12.9-inch iPad Air reportedly start shipping

Apple’s supply chain has begun shipments of display panels for a larger 12.9-inch iPad Air, according to a post on X  from display analyst Ross Young.

This lines up with previously predictions. In a November Medium post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said two iPad Air models, 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch, are scheduled for mass production in the first quarter of 2024.

“The 12.9-inch iPad Air is an all-new model, and while it lacks mini-LED, it benefits from an Oxide backplane (the same spec as the existing mini-LED iPad Pro’s), offering better display performance than the 10.9-inch iPad Air with an a-Si backplane,” he adds.

Kuo is also predicting two new OLED iPad Pros, replacing the current mini-LED models, will start mass production in the first or second quarter of 2024. The OLED iPad Pros will reportedly feature an M3 processor and the improved form factor designs.

“If the price of the new 10.9-inch iPad Air remains unchanged, and the new 12.9-inch iPad Air is definitely more expensive than the 10.9-inch model, then if Apple wants to maintain the price gap between the iPad Air and iPad Pro to preserve its existing product segmentation strategy, it means that the new OLED iPad Pros may see a price increase,” he adds.

Kuo predicts that shipments of the two OLED iPad Pro models will be 6–8 million units in 2024, with slightly weaker shipment momentum than the existing iPad Pros, possibly due to the higher price of OLED iPads and potential cannibalization from the 12.9-inch iPad Air.

As for the iPad mini, he says that mass production of the new iPad mini will start in the second half of next year. And the new 11th generation. iPad will purportedly enter mass production at the same time.