Apple is allegedly using a 60Hz 8.4-inch display panel in the upcoming OLED iPad mini, which is expected to be released later this year.
The information comes courtesy of a hit-and-miss tipster running the account "yeux1122" on the Korean Naver blog. The leaker claims to have been told by a source in Apple's supply chain that the unreleased iPad mini is equipped with a low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) backplane hybrid OLED panel clocked at 60Hz.
Apple's iPad Pro models feature two-stack low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) OLED panels, which makes the display capable of dynamically adjusting its refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz (aka ProMotion). In contrast, LTPS OLED panels are usually paired with fixed refresh rates – such as 60Hz, 90Hz, or 120Hz – and are typically dimmer than LTPO panels.
If the leak is true, it's likely to disappoint iPad mini fans. Previous reports have not been clear on whether the iPad mini 8 will feature a higher refresh rate than the 60Hz LCD display used in the existing iPad mini 7. Given that the base iPhone 17 uses a 120Hz ProMotion panel, some would have believed it was reasonable to expect the same on the first OLED iPad mini. That said, the iPhone 17e goes to show that Apple is still in the 60Hz OLED business, so it might not consider the iPad mini to be a big enough market to justify the more advanced panel technology.
There's still hope of course that the rumor is off the mark. The leaker also said that the smaller form factor iPad is currently in mass production at Samsung Display's A2 Generation 5.5 OLED production line, which is located at its Asan campus in South Korea. Samsung has used the A2 line to manufacture LTPO panels as well as comparatively inferior LTPS panels, so if that piece of information is true, it doesn't mean the new iPad mini will definitely use the latter panel.
Late last month, a report from Korean outlet ETNews claimed that mass production of the iPad mini 8 was underway at a Samsung factory. There are no rumors suggesting exactly when the next iPad mini will be released, but a late 2026 launch is widely expected. Aside from refresh rates, OLED offers several advantages over the LCD technology used in the iPad mini 7, such as higher contrast, deeper blacks, and improved power efficiency.
