Apple reveals why there's no 11-inch mini-LED iPad Pro

By Stephen Warwick
published

iPad Pro 2021 review
iPad Pro 2021 review (Image credit: Daniel Bader / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple's Scott Broderick and Vincent Gu have interviewed with Brian Tong about the new iPad Pro.
  • They discussed the iPad's display, power, and why there's no 11-inch mini-LED version.

Apple's Scott Broderick (iPad Product Marketing) and Vincent Gu (Display engineering) have sat down with Brian Tong to talk about Apple's new iPad Pro (2021), discussing features like its new display and the M1 chip.

In a new YouTube video, Tong spoke with Broderick and Gu, discussing the Liquid Retina XDR Display, challenges behind creating it, the M1 chip, Thunderbolt ports, the battery, and more.

Tong asked why Apple had decided to include the mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch model but not the 11-inch, to which Broderick replied:

What we know about the 11-inch user is that they just love bringing a super-powerful iPad with them in a portable one-pound design... they just love the form factor of that. Whereas the user who is embracing the 12.9-inch display, they were looking for the largest canvas to do their most creative work on that product, and that made sense to bring that XDR technology to the 12-inch display for the iPad Pro.

Tong also asked about desktop versions of apps, the battery, developer tools, and more. You can check out the full interview below:

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iPad Pro (2021)


The 2021 iPad Pro features much-improved performance, faster 5G radios, a creative new front-facing camera, and on the larger 12.9-inch model, a seriously great display. It's still the best tablet ever, but costs more than ever.

Stephen Warwick
Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9

1 Comment
  • I think the real reason was actually supply chain shortages. There is currently a shortage of Mini-LED display panels and the 12.9 inch iPad Pro is already back-ordered until July. Imagine how back-ordered the iPad Pro would be if both sizes had a display shortage on top of the current global chip shortage. It would probably create another PS5-like situation in which it would be very rarely in stock, and when it is, scalpers would knock them off of virtual store shelves and resell them at twice the price. I believe Apple didn’t intentionally do this. They were forced to with the supply-chain shortages, and chose the 12.9 inch as it was the most expensive “ultra” iPad. However, we should expect to see a Mini LED display on the next iteration of the 11-inch iPad Pro.