Apple is planning to introduce new mini-LED displays to its flagship tablet and laptop ranges, according to a new research note from Ming-Chi Kuo. The ever-reliable analyst has predicted the display technology will debut in an updated model of the recently announced 16-inch MacBook Pro as well as the next version of the iPad Pro. Mini-LED is an improvement over regular LED technology that’s been used in TVs, smartphones and laptops for years. As the name suggests, mini-LED technology means the LEDs used to make a screen are smaller, meaning you can fit more of them into a panel overall.
One of the main advantages of this technique centres around dimming – the greater amount of LEDs (and the fact small groups can be brightened or dimmed individually) means images can be better represented overall. This process is called localised dimming.
Mini LEDs also offer a wide colour gamut, high contrast ratios and of course, don’t suffer from burn-in that’s notorious with OLED panels.
Kuo predicted Apple’s mini-LED iPad will arrive in the third quarter of 2020 (that’s from July 1 to September 30) and will be powered by an A14X processor. The latter is presumably an iPad-centric version of Apple’s forthcoming A13 Bionic successor expected to power 2020 iPhones.
Meanwhile, the analyst said the revised MacBook Pro is slated to debut in the fourth quarter of 2020 (that’s from October 1 to December 31). It’s also presumed this device will come with souped-up internals, although this wasn’t discussed by Kuo.
Finally, Kuo said he expects Apple to release between four to six products leveraging the new screen technology over the next two to three years, suggesting the firm has big plans for Mini-LED over the OLED panels that it currently uses in its flagship iPhone series (which are all supplied by arch-nemesis Samsung)
In somewhat of a strange move from Apple, iPad Pro didn’t get a hardware update at all this year. The last refresh to the flagship tablet brought a new design that exterminates bezels in favour of a futuristic all-screen experience back in October 2018. Apple updated every other iPad model in 2019 – that’s the iPad mini, iPad Air and of course, the entry-level iPad.
Last month, Bloomberg – citing people familiar with the matter – reported Apple’s next iPad Pro could debut “as early as the first half of 2020”. In addition to a mini LED display, the tablet has also been rumoured to come with a new camera system on its rear.
More specifically, Bloomberg said the next iPad Pro will come with two cameras on its rear and a “3-D system” that will purportedly allow users to create “three-dimensional reconstructions” of certain objects.
We may have already got a glimpse at the iPad Pro’s new camera system. Back in September reliable tipster Sonny Dickson shared an image online of an iPad Pro with what appears to be a triple-camera system à la iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max. The leakster said the image in question exhibited the tablet’s “final design mockup”.
While Dickson has a solid track record for leaks in the past, it’s certainly worth taking the photo in question with a pinch of salt, especially if Apple isn’t planning to launch the tablet until at least the middle of next year.
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