What you need to know
- The new products include iPads and MacBook Pros.
- Mini-LED isn't the same as MicroLED.
- The first Apple mini-LED products should arrive in 2020.
A hyper-connected Apple analyst has some big news for anyone hoping to score a new iPad or MacBook Pro this year or next. According to TF International Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, the company is currently working on six new products that will feature mini-LED. These are expected to arrive this year or in 2021.
According to the analyst's most recent report, which was first noted by MacRumors, two of these products will get released sometime this year, an all-new 7.9-inch iPad mini and new-generation iMac Pro. The other new models that will feature mini-LED include a next-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 10.2-inch iPad, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a brand new 14.1-inch MacBook Pro.
Noting that the COVID-19 virus isn't affecting Apple's work on any of the products, Kuo explains:
The product research and development for mini LED remain unaffected by the COVID-19. The visibility for commercialization has even exceeded the expectations in our previous report.The trend for Apple's development and promotion of mini LED are more identifiable in five years. We predict that Apple is currently developing six mini-LED-support products (vs. the previous report of only two products), including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 27-inch iMac Pro in 4Q20, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pr (upgraded from 13.3-inch), a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch iPad mini in 2020.
Mini-LED displays are LED-backlit LCD with Mini LED-based backlighting that supports deeper black and higher contract radios compared to other types. It's not the same as MicroLED, which is similar to OLED and doesn't require backlighting.
Apple's likely to announce new tablets and Macs in the coming weeks, although there could be some delayed due to COVID-19. Other products, including the new iPhone lineup, would get a 2020 release date until the fall.
