Mini LED coming to 11-inch iPad Pro in 2022, Kuo says

Apple is predicted to introduce a Mini LED version of its 11-inch iPad Pro in 2022, with the company looking to expand deployment of the screen technology through its mobile device lineups.

In a note to investors on Friday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's Mini LED tech, marketed by Apple as Liquid Retina XDR, to trickle down to the smaller 11-inch model next year.

"We predict that new products equipped with Mini LED displays in 2022 include 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and newly designed MacBook Air," Kuo writes (machine translated).

Apple's first product to sport a Mini LED panel was this year's 12.9-inch iPad Pro that debuted in April. The screen utilizes 10,000 Mini LEDs arranged into 2,596 local dimming zones to achieve extremely high contrast ratios that rival those of OLED panels. Interestingly, Kuo previously predicted Apple to introduce OLED to the iPad line in 2022 with an all new iPad Air.

Kuo in today's note said Apple has tapped Luxshare as its latest Mini LED surface-mount technology provider. The new addition could alleviate reported manufacturing woes and future bottlenecks associated with the advanced screen tech, which Kuo says are related to the SMT production process.

Along with the two iPad Pro models and MacBook Air, Kuo believes Apple will build Mini LED screens into redesigned 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Those laptops are anticipated to enter mass production in the third quarter of 2021.

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast — and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too.

If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.

17 Comments

doozydozen 539 comments · 11 Years

About 3 years ago

For the uninitiated: why does Apple choose Mini LED over OLED?

iOS_Guy80 905 comments · 5 Years

repressthis said:

For the uninitiated: why does Apple choose Mini LED over OLED?

From what I have read it’s a question of cost and yield productivity. The mini LED on the 12.9” is very impressive.

jellybelly 139 comments · 15 Years

Simple: OLED can experience burn-in of graphics that appear for long periods of time. Also, and related, the”O” stands for organic. Organic compounds usually don’t have the lifespan of inorganic compounds. In OLED, blue has a much shorter lifespan than Red and Green. This could lead to color fading and inaccurate color over time—YMMV.

The biggest advantage of Mini and Micro LED can be in brightness. OLED can achieve up to 1,000 nits of brightness, while inorganic Mini and Micro LEDs can emit up to 5,000 nits of brightness Mini LEDs can approach the blacks of OLED depending on the resolution used for backlighting ( which is getting higher all the time). Micro LEDs match OLEDs in blackness values. So, contrast ratios can be much higher with Mini and Micro LEDs, compared to OLED due to the higher brightness.

They’re getting really good results with Mini-LED. Plus it’s a run-up to Micro-LED, in a not obvious way—more in manufacturing than in as a back light for a group of pixels vs. a light for each subpixel of R,B,G,G respectively.

robaba 228 comments · 4 Years

MiniLED also doesn’t experience the color shifting that comes from display angle or the color drifting which happens over the lifetime of the device. I will definitely be buying a miniLED iPad when this one breaths it’s last.

Wgkrueger 352 comments · 8 Years

That helps. If true I’ll be replacing my 2018 iPad Pro 11” in 2022.