Apple’s next-gen iPad Pro said to feature Mini LED display

Apple will implement a Mini LED-based display in the company’s next-gen iPad Pro later this year, with a report claiming new vendor Innolux is entering Apple’s supply chain with production planned for second half 2020.

Malcolm Owen for AppleInsider:

The battle to improve the display technologies of mobile devices has shifted producers from LCD to OLED, with all looking for the next potential upgrade. One of those often touted to be the next big thing is Mini LED, and Apple is apparently hoping to use it in a new iPad Pro model.

According to UDN, Innolux Mini LED is claimed to have sent samples to Apple and is preparing to start production on the displays for the iPad Pro in the second half of 2020. The report believes existing mini LED producer Jingdian was favored by Apple and had won orders, but Innolux appears to be a secondary supplier for the parts.

MacDailyNews Take: Back in December 2019, DigiTimes reported that Taiwan-based supply chain makers including Epistar, General Interface Solution (GIS), Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology (TSMT), Zhen Ding Technology and Flexium Interconnect were poised to receive orders for components to be used in a 12.9-inch Mini LED iPad Pro that Apple was said to launch in calendar third-quarter 2020.

This adds further confirmation that Mini LED is ready for the type of high volume production Apple requires as, earlier in December 2019, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reiterated that Apple was planning four to six products with mini-LED displays over the next two to three years, including a high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro for Q320.