A 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro will debut in September, according to a report from DigiTimes (a subscription is required to read the entire article). The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) says that sounds about right.
The upcoming laptops are expected to have a major redesign, run on Apple Silicon (M1 chips), and sport mini-LED displays. The mini-LED displays will likely use 10,000 mini-LEDs and will be comparable to OLED screens. They’ll result in good wide color gamut performance, high contrast and HDR, and local dimming.
Mini-LEDs sport a local dimming function with a contrast effect similar to that of OLED displays. However, on some product lines, costs for mini-LED backlit displays may even be lower than their OLED counterparts, according to LEDinside. Mini-LED products are as thin as those using OLED technology so they consume less power than traditional LED screens.
DigiTimes also says that Apple will make a rare investment to expand surface mounting technology (SMT) assembly capacity at its partners. The goal: to satisfy demand for its miniLED-backlit devices including the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and upcoming Mac laptops.
