The launch of a new flagship 12.9-inch iPad Pro featuring a groundbreaking Mini-LED display may be “delayed” until early 2021 due to the device’s “complex panel design,” analyst Jeff Pu wrote in an investor note for Chinese research firm GF Securities.
Back in December, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple was developing up to six Mini-LED products, including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an A14X chip for release in the third quarter of 2020. This was before the global health crisis began, however, so it would be understandable if the timeframe has been pushed back due to supply chain disruptions and Apple engineers being forced to work from home until at least early May.
Apple just refreshed the iPad Pro last month, but it was a relatively minor update… Pu also reiterated that Apple is currently on track to release three new iPhone 12 models in September, including one 5.4-inch model and two 6.1-inch models, followed by the highest-end 6.7-inch model in October.
MacDailyNews Take: Last September, reiterating a prediction he shared in April 2019, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note to clients that Apple plans to release high-end iPad and MacBook models with Mini-LED displays between late-2020 and mid-2021. Kuo explained that these new iPad and MacBook displays will each use approximately 10,000 LEDs, compared to 576 in Apple’s upcoming Pro Display XDR. Each LED is said to be below 200 microns in size, significantly smaller than those in the Pro Display XDR. Kuo believes Mini-LED is Apple’s first choice to achieve a twofer: (1) avoid OLED burn-in issues and (2) reduce the dependance on Samsung OLED displays.
