Apple’s rumor basket is full again. It seems that the new iPad, dubbed so far the iPad 3 will be sporting dual OLED backlights. This seems like an effort to remedy the problems with backlighting that the iPad 2 has been experiencing, but who knows?

Jack Purcher of Patently Apple reported that the US Patent & Trademark Office has published a patent application from Apple reporting exactly the change highlighted above. This might mean great news.

At the moment, LCD displays require more layers which makes them thick and as we have seen already, this might lead to problems in functioning of the iPad or iPhone. The patent illustrations shows that Apple plans to use OLED backlights that are bonded on the back of the LCD display. This would help prevent contamination and other lighting defects and make the display better. Thinner has always been better for consumers, so Apple could now be militating towards making the iPad slimer and implicitly lighter.

What other things does the patent reveal? Well for instance the fact that the OLED backlight could be somehow electrically connected with the light modulating portions of the LCD. The point in doing this is that the information would be better transmitted to pixels of the LCD therefore reaching areas of backlight and improving the whole lighting of the iPad.

Also, the intent of the company based in Silicon Valley is to extend the use of the OLED backlighting to iPhones, Cinema Displays, MacBooks and even iMacs, but the first taste consumers are going to be getting of this technology will probably come with the iPad in 2012.

Source: patentlyapple.com

Wouldn’t that be harder on the battery?

I work in TV production and have had limited use of OLED monitors. They are beautiful, very expensive, and so far are expected to have a short life span. Given the short life span part, I would be very concerned about purchasing a new iPad even if the OLED is only featured as the back light. I like my screen the way it is on my iPad 1 and if anything should change, it should be the highly reflective glass.