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.