Apple Plans To Launch Six New Products Using Mini-LED Screens, Including an iMac Pro, iPads And MacBook Pros

The coronavirus outbreak has hit Apple’s bottom line and the tech giant has had to shutter its China-based stores, a new report says that the epidemic doesn’t stop the company from keeping its plan to release new devices. In particular, over the next two years, Apple will likely launch six new products that feature mini-LED screens.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a trusted Apple analyst, the research and development process of mini-LED displays have not been influenced by COVID-19 and is now ahead of schedule regarding commercializing the technology.

However, the more surprising thing is that the technology is ready so early, which is why the analyst claims that the iPhone maker will release two devices featuring mini-LED screens before the year-end. The two products in question are a 7.9-inch iPad Mini and a 27-inch iMac Pro.

Kuo didn’t give a detailed timeline of the launch of the upcoming iPad Mini, he mentioned that the iMac Pro may go on sale in the fourth quarter this year. It seems reasonable for Apple to use mini-LED displays on the iMac Pro because this type of screen offers better contrast as well as brighter colors than the conventional LCD screen. This is more beneficial for video editors along with other content creators, who will most likely buy the new iMac Pro.

In terms of next year, the analyst predicts that Apple will launch the other four devices that also use mini-LED displays, namely a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a 10.2-inch iPad. Among these, the most notable device is the 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, showing that this product line is moving in a slightly new direction with its bigger display packed in a body that may not be much larger than the existing 13-inch one.

However, considering mini-LED is commonly thought to be a transitional step from LCD displays to micro-LED ones, this decision from Apple is questionable. Mini-LEDs are better due to their smaller size, making it easier to design a screen with many more local dimming zones, and the screen will come with better contrast as well as black levels. But mini-LED displays still use backlighting, meaning you won’t get the pure black shades offered by micro-LED and OLED screens.

On the other hand, micro-LED screens are extremely expensive to manufacture and sell because they currently have poor yields. That makes mini-LED a solid upgrade as other firms like Samsung are pouring money into micro-LED technology.

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