Apple pushes for 20-30% MacBook Pro mini LED production increase

Apple is continuing to expand its supply chain for mini LED panels, an analyst claims, with a view to increasing production for MacBook Pro displays.

Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro both use mini LED for backlighting the display, technology first seen in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. With the success of the display in the models, Apple is keen to increase production to use the technology more.

According to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Twitter, Apple is "aggressively expanding the supply chain capacity of mini LED panels for MacBook Pro." The Saturday tweet adds that Apple is doing this despite the PC and notebook market as a whole struggling with both inflation and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

As for how much of a gain Apple wants to see, Kuo says it is aiming for a supply increase of 20% to 30%.

Increasing production capacity provides Apple with a number of benefits, including cheaper per-panel costs due to economies of scale. The increase may also be considered a sign that Apple believes high demand of its high-end notebooks is on the way.

Kuo's tweet follows another from late Sunday, where the analyst muses "I think the gap between mini-LED MacBook Pro and OLED notebook shipments may widen in 2022-2023." Despite inflation being an issue, Apple is reckoned to be able to outperform its competitors "thanks to brand value."

The comments were in response to a March 21 report from analytics firm DSCC, in which both Apple's newest MacBook Pro models enjoyed considerable domination of the advanced notebook market following their launch. In DSCC's figures, the mini LED MacBook Pro models outsold all OLED notebooks in the fourth quarter of 2021.