Apple plans to release future iPad models with extremely thin bezels like the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and recent Apple Watch models, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter.
In his newsletter, Gurman doubles down on the iPhone 15 Pro’s impressively thin bezels, which could be as narrow as just 1.5mm compared to the iPhone 14 Pro’s 2.2mm. Gurman further corroborates The Information‘s report of Apple utilizing an advanced manufacturing technology known as Low-Injection Pressure Overmolding (LIPO) to reduce the bezels on the upcoming high-end iPhones. LIPO has apparently been in use since the Apple Watch Series 7, allowing it to achieve thin bezels and increase the display size.
Apple has plans to expand its LIPO technology beyond the Apple Watch and the iPhone 15 Pro, reports Gurman. While he did not provide a concrete release date for when the iPad is expected to adopt LIPO, it is likely that the technology could make its way to the tablet in 2025 at the earliest. As the upcoming iPad Pro is rumored to introduce OLED displays to the iPad lineup in 2024 for the first time, it is doubtful that Apple would introduce two new display technologies in one generation, especially as the company is rumored to be grappling with high manufacturing costs for iPad-designated OLED panels.
The iPad’s large display size is also likely to introduce a new set of manufacturing problems when utilizing LIPO, something that Apple and its display suppliers are already struggling with, especially on the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple would also have to go around redesigning the TrueDepth camera compartment on the iPad, which hasn’t undergone a redesign since Face ID first made its way on the iPad Pro in 2018.
