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Rumor: mini-LED iPad Pro coming in early 2021, mini-LED Mac laptop in the last half of the year

Apple is expected to launch 12.9-inch mini LED-backlit iPad Pro in early 2021 and a mini LED-backlit, high end Mac laptop in the second half of the year, according to DigiTimes.

The publication has a spotty record when it comes to its Apple predictions. However, the Sellers Research Group (that’s me) thinks they’re spot on with today’s report.

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, and they cost 70-80% less to produce than OLED displays, although their performance is similar.

In May reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple’s development of mini-LED display based hardware hadn’t been significantly affected by COVID-19, but may have delayed adoption of the technology in the short-term. He says some products may be pushed from a late 2020 release date to 2021.

“We believe that investors do not need to worry too much about the extension of the mini LED schedule, because mini LED is a key technology that Apple will promote in the next 5 years, so even if the short-term schedule is affected by the new coronary pneumonia, it will not damage the long-term positive trend,” Kuo said.

The analyst thinks that Apple will release iPad Pros and MacBook Pros with mini-LED displays that will use 10,000 mini-LEDs and will be comparable to OLED screens. believes the mini-LED displays will make for thinner and lighter products. He thinks they will also result in good wide color gamut performance, high contrast and HDR, and local dimming.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.