This month there’s been a lot of talk about Apple’s latest “home cinema in a hand”, the new iPad Pro OLED.
There is a good reason for this. For starters, there's the fact it is the latest gadget from Apple, which is enough to get many punters physically queuing outside their nearest Apple Store.
But for us at What Hi-Fi? the main reason we're excited as a team is its new tandem OLED screen. We're yet to test the tech in our viewing room, but it aims to radically improve the new iPad Pro’s picture quality, letting it offer the perfect blacks synonymous with OLED and up to 1600 nits peak HDR brightness.
The latter is nowhere near the max you’ll find on some of the next-generation sets in our best TV and best OLED TV pages, some of which can go to 4000 nits max brightness. The peak HDR brightness is is still very impressive, though, especially considering many flagship OLEDs struggled to go over 700 nits even a few years ago. If deployed well the jump could lead to a much more immersive movie watching experience on the new iPad Pro, especially for HDR content.
Despite this, I can’t help but feel a slight feeling that, as cool as the new iPad Pro looks, Apple should go in a very different direction with its next device. Specifically, it should make a full-fat OLED TV.
I know that’s a very "out there" request as there are currently no concrete rumours or signs Apple has any intention of making an OLED TV. The latest credible looking predictions come from research firm Omdia which suggests Apple's next device with an OLED panel will be the iPhone 16 which is expected to launch in September, followed by new 32 and 42-inch OLED computer monitors in 2027.
The reason I’m saying my wish out loud is that Apple has done all the background work it needs to create a really good OLED TV.
Despite its age the Apple TV 4K remains the best streaming box on the market, which is why it won a What Hi-Fi? Award in 2023.
Third, Apple has a solid track record with picture quality. Apple was one of the first brands to properly take colour accuracy and things like gamut coverage seriously. That’s why our best tablets to watch movies on guide is dominated by iPads. We even went so far as to call the previous generation iPad Pro 12.9 "the pinnacle of portable home cinema" when we reviewed it because of this.
Apple's background in the creative industry with its MacBook Pro, iMac Pro computer and Studio and Pro Display XDR monitors add further credence to this point. Apple knows how to make screens that are accurate to what the director intended. If Apple took the same approach to a TV that it did on these categories, it could make a great TV for any serious home cinema fan.
Imagine what a great experience you could have watching movies at home if Apple combined all of these ingredients into a full-fat, flagship OLED. And that’s why I think, despite all signs suggesting it won’t, Apple's next product should be a TV.
These are the best OLED TVs we’ve reviewed
