iPadOS 17.5 all but confirms an OLED upgrade for the iPad Pro 2024’s screen

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An upgraded iPad and a new Apple Pencil

iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) on table
The iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) (Image credit: Future)

Perhaps the most widely rumored upgrade for the iPad Pro 2024 is a move to OLED screen technology, in place of the mini-LED screen on the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022) and the LCD display on the iPad Pro 11 (2022). This change would likely improve the screen's contrast, and now Apple’s own software points in the direction of OLED too.

9to5Mac has found new display firmware for as-yet-unannounced iPad models in code from the iPadOS 17.5 beta, and claims that the firmware suggests these upcoming iPads will have OLED screens. Since this is official Apple software, that’s pretty close to a confirmation that OLED is planned.

While the tablets aren’t mentioned by name, their descriptors (iPad16,3, iPad16,4, iPad16,5, and iPad16,6) are apparently identifiers for the iPad Pro 2024 according to 9to5Mac’s analysis, with there being four listed because the tablet is expected to come in two sizes (11-inch and 12.9-inch) and in both Wi-Fi and cellular versions.

The presence of these identifiers in iPadOS 17.5 code also suggests that the iPad Pro 2024 will probably launch quite soon, which is in line with previous leaks, the most recent of which suggested the iPad Pro 2024 might launch during the week commencing May 6.

A new stylus for a new tablet

Whenever the iPad Pro 2024 does launch, it might do so alongside a new Apple Pencil 3, which we’ve also heard rumblings of, and which 9to5Mac has seen more evidence of in iPadOS 17.5.

Recently, the same site found evidence that this stylus would add a “squeeze” gesture, and newly found code in iPadOS 17.5 adds that there will seemingly be “LongSqueeze” and “DoubleSqueeze” gestures too.

So that would give you a trio of shortcuts or other functions built into the stylus, which you’d be able to activate by squeezing it in various ways.

It could be a big year for iPads, because alongside the iPad Pro 2024, we’re also expecting the iPad Air 6. Then – probably later in the year – reports suggest Apple may also launch the iPad 11 and iPad mini 7. So, if you’ve been waiting for a new iPad, this could be the year to upgrade.

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James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.