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Apple expected to release iPad Pro, MacBook Pro with Mini LED displays

Apple's current iPad Pro

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Doubling down on an earlier prediction, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple will produce new iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models featuring high-quality Mini LED displays in late 2020 or early 2021.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is again reporting that he believes Apple will move to producing high end models of the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro which use Mini LED screens. These displays, said to be comparable to OLED, are expected to be launched in late 2020 or early 2021.

Kuo has previous predicted iPad Pro improvements, and higher-quality MacBook Pro display, but now he offers more detail about the specifics of the display.

Kuo believes the displays for both iPad Pro and MacBook Pro will use 10,000 Mini LEDs. The forthcoming Apple Pro Display XDR monitor is confirmed to have 576 LEDs.

LED and Mini LED screens are said to be comparable to OLED displays, but without the production issues or potential for burn-in. Moving to Mini LED could also reduce Apple's reliance on Samsung's OLED manufacturing.

According to Kuo, the Mini LED screens will be produced by LG Display, and utilize components from half a dozen other suppliers, including Epistar. Apple has previously been reported developing both Mini and Micro LED displays with Epistar and others.

As previously claimed, Kuo says the new iPad Pro will have a display of between 10 and 12 inches, and the MacBook Pro will have between 15 and 17-inch screens. This implies the whole high end of both models getting the new screens.

Kuo says that the new iPad Pro will be released at the end of 2020 or the start of 2021. The MacBook Pro will be early 2021.



26 Comments

1983 12 Years · 1225 comments

I’d still rather have the elegance and picture quality of a true OLED display, rather than just a glorified type of backlight, it’s still basically an LCD. This reminds me of Samsung’s QLED TVs. Which admittedly in their latest generation have great OLED rivaling image quality apparently, but at the end of the day, it’s still an LCD display requiring a backlight.

omasou 7 Years · 643 comments

1983 said:
I’d still rather have the elegance and picture quality of a true OLED display, rather than just a glorified type of backlight, it’s still basically an LCD. This reminds me of Samsung’s QLED TVs. Which admittedly in their latest generation have great OLED rivaling image quality apparently, but at the end of the day, it’s still an LCD display requiring a backlight.

It is not a LCD or backlighting.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/04/explaining-microled-versus-tft-and-oled-display-technologies-and-why-apple-is-interested-for-a-future-iphone-or-apple-watch

Probably why Apple is investing so heavily to keep Japan Display afloat.

foregoneconclusion 12 Years · 2857 comments

omasou said: It is not a LCD or backlighting.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/04/explaining-microled-versus-tft-and-oled-display-technologies-and-why-apple-is-interested-for-a-future-iphone-or-apple-watch

Probably why Apple is investing so heavily to keep Japan Display afloat.

It is a bit confusing, but Mini LED (as mentioned in the article) is a different technology than Micro LED.

https://www.ledinside.com/news/2018/5/difference_between_micro_led_and_mini_led

matrix077 9 Years · 868 comments

LED and Mini LED screens are said to be comparable to OLED displays

This sentence should only be "Mini LED screens are said to be comparable to OLED displays". Not sure how anyone can say LED in LCD panel comparable to OLED. That's just false.

frantisek 11 Years · 760 comments

Is it possible that Apple would use Mini-LED in phones next year or it would be suitable for Watch as well?