A new report predicts that sales of the new iPad Pro will be influenced by the higher price than before, and by the consumer appeal of the cheaper 13-inch iPad Air.
Trendforce has previously clearly predicted that if Apple releases iPad Pro models with OLED screens, this will be the case would fall the previous versions with mini LED displays. Now that Apple has done just this, Trendforce has released a report estimating the potential sales of the new iPad range.
This is evident from a report by market research agency Trendforce really focused on AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode) screens. This is the small but important variant of OLED that allows the iPad Pro to control each individual pixel, and that too with lower power consumption.
Trendforce's focus, then, is on how it estimates that the total number of AMOLED displays shipped in any company's devices by 2025 will be around 9 million. It says this represents about 7% of the total tablet market.
But for Apple in particular, Trendforce estimates that the company will ship between 4.5 and 5 million units of the iPad Pro in 2024. That's a total for the 11-inch and 13-inch models of the iPad Pro combined.
Trendforce does not appear to have published any previous estimates for Apple's revenue, but says the new forecast has been reduced to between 4.5 million and 5 million, which is a decline. The analysts say they predict this lower figure in part because of the new developments iPad Air.
For the first time, there is a 13-inch version of the iPad Air and Trendforce believes this could reduce consumer interest in the iPad Pro. In their base specs, Apple sells the 13-inch iPad Pro starting at $1,299, while the 13-inch iPad Air starts at $799.
As Trendforce notes, the iPad Pro's price is $200 higher than the previous model. It attributes that increase entirely to the screen, and in particular to the way Apple has used so-called tandem OLED technology to avoid the burn-in and shorter lifespan previously associated with AMOLED.
So the combination of a more expensive iPad Pro and a new 13-inch iPad Air will be responsible for lowering sales of the Pro model. Here too, Trendforce does not say how much, but that it will be “only” 4.5 to 5 million in 2024.
However, an earlier estimate said to come from supply chain sources said Apple did 8.5 million ordered OLED display panels for 2024.