OLED Tablets - Introduction and Latest Industry News
What is an OLED display?
OLED is short for Organic Light Emitting Diode, a device composed of thin carbon-based films placed between two electrodes that creates light with the application of electricity. Unlike other screen technologies, (like LCDs), which require backlighting, OLED displays are emissive devices - they emit light rather than manipulate transmitted external light.
OLEDs provide brighter, crisper colors and contrast on electronic devices and use less power than conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or liquid crystal displays (LCDs) used today. This revolutionary technology is fit for various types of screens, like computer screens, mobile phones, tablets, TVs and more. OLED screens are light, thin, high-resolution and contain individually-lit pixels that make for true blacks and superior color contrast.
The current OLED tablet market
OLED displays are already very common on mobile phones (in fact it is the dominant technology, with a market share of over 50%), as Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi and others adopt OLED displays in their smartphones.
OLEDs are also used in tablets, and this is a growing market. Samsung, Microsoft, Huawei and others are already shipping OLED-powered tablets. In 2024 Apple launched its first OLED tablets, the 2024 iPad Pro devices. It is likely that Apple's move will cause an increased adoption of OLEDs in tablets from other companies.
Click here for a list of the latest OLED tablets on the market. Subscribe to OLED-Info Pro to access our complete list of OLED Tablets , with full information on the display types, producers, features and more.
A spotlight on Everdisplay Optronics: China's first AMOLED producer navigating growth and challenges
Everdisplay Optronics (also known as Hehui Optoelectronics, or EDO) stands as a significant player in the global AMOLED display industry, distinguished as China's first AMOLED manufacturer to achieve mass production (back in 2014). Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Shanghai, the company has grown from a startup with ambitious goals to a publicly traded corporation supplying AMOLED displays for wearables, smartphones, laptops, tablets, VR devices, and automobiles.
In this article, we detail the company's history, current capabilities, production lines and products, and also look into its future, its technology roadmap, opportunities and challenges – and its prospects as an investment opportunity.
Huawei launches new AMOLED phones and tablets, including the world's first 8000 nits smartphone display
Huawei introduced several new devices yesterday, all with AMOLED display. First up we have the new Huawei Mate 80 smartphone family, that includes 3 models. The basic Mate 80 and the Mate 80 Pro both offer a 6.75" 120Hz 1280x2832 LTPO display.
The flagship Mate 80 Pro Max has the world's brightest display - a 6.9" 1320x2848 120Hz 8000 nits LTPO AMOLED.
HKC wins first AMOLED orders, to enter mass production soon and expand its OLED product range
Shenzhen-based HKC is moving forward with its AMOLED project, and the company said that a few days ago, on November 13, it has received its first OLED panel orders. The company said that its OLED panels has officially passed customer testing and verification.
This first order is for HKC's smartphone AMOLED panels that the company showed in July 2025. These OLEDs are produced on an advanced Oxide-TFT (IGZO) backplane, likely on Royole's old production line, see more below. HKC says that the performance of its IGZO smartphone AMOLED displays matches the industry's leading products.
Omdia: Tablet OLED panel shipments to rise 39% in 2026
Omdia says that it expects the shipments of OLED tablet panels to rise 39% in 2026, and reach 15 million units. The total tablet display market will rise 1.4% (and reach 301.5 million units) - fueled almost entirely by the growth in OLED shipments - LCD panel shipments will remain the same as in 2025.
Most of the growth in 2026 will be driven by higher demand from Apple, for its iPad Pro tablets - and also its iPad Mini tablets, as it is estimated that Apple will launch the OLED iPad Mini in 2026. This will increase Samsung Display's OLED tablet production. Other companies that expect to increase tablet OLED panel production are BOE, TCL CSOT and Visionox, mostly for supplying OLEDs to Huawei's tablets.
Omdia forecasts fast growth for polarizer-free OLED panels
Omdia estimates that OLED makers will increase their adoption of polarizer-free OLED technology (sometimes referred to as Pol-Less OLEDs, and also as Color Filter on Encapsulation or COE, we will discuss this below), and the market share of the panels will grow dramatically in the future.
According to Omdia, currently only about 0.1% of smartphone AMOLED panels utilize a polarizer-free architecture, but this will grow to 20.3% by 2032. In tablets, the market share is currently 0%, and it will grow tot 20.3%.
Bloomberg shares Apple's IT OLED adoption roadmap
Bloomberg posted an article in which it details Apple's IT OLED adoption roadmap, saying that the company plans to introduce OLED iPad Mini devices in 2026, an OLED iPad Air in 2027 or 2028, and OLED MacBook Air laptops in 2028.
Apple has a long-term goal of utilizing higher performance OLED displays across all of its devices - today it is using OLEDs in all of its smartphones, VR, and wearables and it has also introduced OLEDs into its high-end iPad Pro tablets. Next year, we expect the company to introduce its first OLED laptop and also its first foldable OLED smartphone.
BOE accelerates its 8.6-Gen IT AMOLED line, hopes to be the first in the world to achieve mass production
Both Samsung Display and BOE are building next-generation 8.6-Gen OLED production lines, aiming to increase capacity for IT AMOLED panels (for laptops, tablets and perhaps monitors as well). Samsung is on track to enter mass production in Q3 2026, and BOE's original plan was to start mass production in Q4 2026.
According to the news from China, BOE is accelerating its plans, and is currently about 4 months ahead of schedule - and now the company hopes to be the world's first display maker to mass produce OLEDs in a 8.6-Gen line. Not only that, but BOE's line will be able to produce flexible OLEDs (on Polyimide substrates), while Samsung's line only supports rigid OLEDs on glass.
Apple launches new versions of its Vision Pro VR headset and iPad Pro tablets
Apple announce new devices yesterday, powered by its latest M5 chipset, including a new Vision Pro VR headset and new iPad Pro tablets. Interestingly, all the devices use the same OLED screens as the previous editions.
We'll start with the new M5 iPad Pro (2025) devices, that indeed have the same same Ultra Retina tandem OLED panels used in the 2024 iPad Pro tablets - 11" 1668x2420 or 13" 2064x2752 and offer 120H and 1600 nits peak brightness.
Samsung to start mass producing OLEDs at its 8.6-Gen IT line by Q3 2026, pretty much confirms it will supply foldable OLEDs to Apple
Samsung Display is progressing as planned with its 8.6-Gen AMOLED production line, and the company's president Lee Cheong, now says that the company expects to start mass producing panels by Q3 2026, or even a few weeks before that.
Lee Cheong also noted that the company is also moving forward with the final development of foldable OLED displays, to be supplied to a North American client, pretty much confirming that Samsung will supply these displays to Apple for its first foldable smartphone due out in 2026. It is understood that these flexible displays will not be produced at the 8.6-Gen IT line (which will produce rigid glass based OLEDs, at least in the first phase).
BOE to light up its B16 8.6-Gen flexible IT OLED line in December, mass production expected by end of 2026
Towards the end of 2023, BOE officially announced its plans for a 8.6-Gen B16 flexible LTPO AMOLED line in Chengdu. The agreement with Chengdu's local government was signed in early 2024, and in April BOE announced it is starting to construct the new fab.
The company now updates that the B16 line is actually ahead of schedule, and it expects to light up the line before the end of 2025. Mass production and shipments are targeted for Q4 2026. The main applications that BOE plans for are in IT (laptops, tablets and monitors) and automotive - but the fab will also be able to produce smartphone AMOLED displays if BOE needs to.
