What is Tandem OLED, the display technology of the future?

The Ultra Retina XDR display on Apple’s latest iPad Pro model heralds a new era in OLED technology. This innovative display technology uses a system called “Tandem OLED” that redefines industry standards. Let’s examine what Tandem OLED is and why it is an important development.

What is Tandem OLED technology?

Tandem OLED can be defined as a technology created by placing two organic light-emitting layers on top of each other. In fact, the word tandem means ‘back to back’, ‘two rows’ or ‘one behind the other’ in English.

This technology combines two layers of OLED pixels, each with its own red, green and blue (RGB) subpixels. These layers work together or “in tandem” to achieve higher brightness levels, resulting in less organic material wear than traditional single-layer OLEDs.

Tandem OLED’s dual-layer structure makes it possible to achieve higher brightness levels and extends the life of the screen in the process. This also significantly reduces the risk of burn-in that OLED displays usually face.

For example, while small-sized OLED displays can reach 2000 nits of brightness, larger panels consume more power to reach these levels, which negatively affects the battery life of the device and the life of the screen.

Tandem OLED technology eliminates these problems, providing more efficient light distribution and achieving higher brightness with lower power consumption.

Until the 2024 iPad Pro, the iPhone was Apple’s largest device with an OLED display. While rivals like Samsung embraced OLED for their flagship laptops and tablets, Apple stuck with LCD displays for nearly a decade. Although it used mini-LED backlighting on the 2022 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, they ultimately failed to deliver OLED-like results either.

Mini-LED displays use hundreds or even thousands of tiny LEDs, but the rest of the display is the same as any LCD. Mini-LEDs improve black levels and greatly increase brightness, but they still can’t quite replicate OLED’s pixel-level control. A phenomenon known as “blooming” can be observed in mini-LED displays when bright objects are displayed against a black background.

With a sufficient number of dimming zones, mini-LED can appear almost indistinguishable from OLED. However, OLED has many other advantages, such as instant response times and better viewing angles. With its new tandem OLED technology, Apple can deliver brightness levels and durability as good as existing mini-LED displays. For example, the 2024 iPad Pro can reach 1600 nits maximum brightness in HDR content.

Tandem OLED technology will not be limited to Apple iPad Pro. LG Display launched Tandem OLED panels for the automotive industry in 2019 and started to introduce this technology to the consumer electronics industry by 2024.

This means that more devices will be equipped with Tandem OLED technology in the future. What are you thinking? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.