Compared to conventional LED screens or even OLED screens, mini LEDs have the advantages of higher contrast ratio, higher brightness, lower power consumption, and thinner design. As a result, many manufacturers, including Apple, are taking a keen interest in technology.
In a report published by Ming Kwok, an analyst at Skywind International, Apple will introduce six products with mini-LED displays in 2021, covering the iPad, MacBook and iMac product lines: 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, 27-inch iMac Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 10.2-inch iPad, and 7.9-inch iPad? mini.
Apple will launch six mini LED displays in 2021
Guo Ming said that Apple’s suppliers will start mass production of mini LED components between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 to ensure that the device will be launched on schedule in 2021.
The latest report provides a more precise timetable for the product’s market launch: A 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2021, followed by a 16-inch MacBook Pro in the second quarter and a new 27-inch iMac in the second half of the year.
According to the announcement, mini LEDs can fit more in the same area and support local dimming, resulting in better display and energy efficiency. Some analysts believe that the heating of mini LED screens will encourage competition between Apple and Samsung. It is worth noting that Apple is not only focusing on mini LED technology but also seems to have a strong interest in “more radical” micro-LED displays.
Compared to miniature LEDs, which are each 200 microns in size, micro-LEDs have LED modules that can be reduced in size to a few tens of microns and can even store one in each pixel for better viewing. However, some engineers have said that micro-LEDs currently face many technical difficulties, high costs, and difficulties in mass production. From this point of view, Apple could treat miniature LEDs as “over choice”.
And there is one more thing: The new iPad Pro, which will be introduced in the first quarter of 2021, is also powered by an A14X processor based on the 5nm process with an integrated Qualcomm 5G baseband.