Apple’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be slightly thicker due to Mini-LED display

Apple’s upcoming (as in: within hours) 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be slightly thicker than the current model due to the inclusion of the mini-LED display. MacRumors has heard several rumors about the change in thickness and, now, leaked design images have confirmed it.

Juli Clover for MacRumors:

A source that designs accessories for Apple devices sent MacRumors a series of photos that feature exact dimensions for the new ‌iPad Pro‌ models, and while we can’t share the images themselves, we can share the leaked measurements…

The 12.9-inch model will measure in at 280.65mm long (11.04 inches), 215mm wide (8.46 inches) and 6.4mm thick (0.25 inches). With the exception of the thickness, those dimensions are about the same as the dimensions of the current ‌iPad Pro‌, and that matches up with rumors we’ve heard suggesting that there will be few design changes to the device.

6.4mm is 0.5mm thicker than the thickness of the current 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, which is 5.9mm thick. The change in thickness may be due to the inclusion of the mini-LED display, a feature that will be unique to the 12.9-inch model.

MacDailyNews Take: A very slightly thicker iPad Pro — nearly imperceptible — is well worth the spec change in trade for the benefits of Mini-LED.

In September 2019, 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.