Kuo: iPad Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro to get mini-LED displays in 2020

iPad Pro (2018) (Image credit: Rene Ritchie / iMore)

What you need to know

Kuo expects a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in the 2nd half of 2020.
A refreshed 16-inch MacBook Pro is also mentioned.
Both are said to use new mini-LED displays.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has been speaking of mini-LED technology in a new research note picked up by MacRumors, with new iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models said to be pencilled in for a release in the second half of 2020.

According to the note Apple is actually working on between four and six products that will use mini-LED displays, all of which will ship over the next two or three years. The first of which look set to be a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Starting with the iPad Pro, Kuo says that it will feature an Apple A14X processor and will arrive in the third quarter of 2020. The processor makes plenty of sense given the fact we expect iPhone 12 to use the A14 in September. The display talk is more interesting, however, as is the fact that the 11-inch iPad Pro isn't mentioned at all.

Kuo says that the use of mini-LED will allow displays to be thinner and lighter, and that they will "significantly improve productivity and the entertainment experience." But MacRumors says that the note doesn't elaborate on why or how that is the case.

We've previously heard rumors – again via Ming-Chi Kuo – of Apple's plans to use mini-LED in its portable products, and it surely won't be the last.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.