12.9-inch iPad ProSource: Joseph Keller/iMore

What you need to know

  • A new report claims Apple will launch a new iPad Pro later this year.
  • That iPad Pro will have a mini-LED display for the first time.
  • That despite both iPad Pro models having just been refreshed by Apple.

Despite Apple having just refreshed the iPad Pro, a new report claims that we can expect another device to land later this year. And this one will feature a mini-LED display for the first time.

This report comes courtesy of the always unpredictable DigiTimes, so it needs to be taken with a sizeable grain of salt. But it does mimic a similar report from earlier this year, so there may well be something to it.

Apple is reportedly keen to make the move to mini-LED as soon as possible, with thinner displays, solid blacks, and imroved color accuracy all pushing the company in that direction.

Apple reportedly prefers mini LED to OLED for its medium-size devices and will launch an ‌iPad Pro‌ with backlighting in the fourth quarter of 2020.

But with Apple having just released the new iPad Pro updates, it surely won't be doing so again later this year. And if Apple does intend to fire another iPad Pro into the market, it will presumably sit above the existing devices. I'd expect differentiators beyond mini-LED if that is to be the case.

Normally I'd think that the display might be larger, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has already suggested we should expect any mini-LED iPad Pro to retain the same 12.9-inch form factor.

I'd love to know what you'd want from an even higher-end iPad Pro down in the comments, please. I'm not sure what Apple could add beyond more storage and a new Apple A13X processor. Would that be enough to charge a premium over the current iPad Pro?