Apple was suffering setbacks in its production of the new 12.9-inch mini-LED iPad Pro due to problems in surface mount technology (SMT) process by Taiwan’s TSMT, one of the SMT suppliers for the newly unveiled devices, The Elec reports citing “people familiar with the matter.”
The new Liquid Retina XDR display brings the stunning front-of-screen performance of the Pro Display XDR to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Engineered with a new cutting-edge mini-LED design that uses over 10,000 LEDs across the entire back of the display, the Liquid Retina XDR display features up to 1000 nits of full-screen brightness, 1600 nits of peak brightness, and a phenomenal 1 million-to-1 contrast ratio to enhance creative workflows. The result is a stunning visual experience that reflects what can be seen in the real world by capturing the brightest highlights and the most subtle details in even the darkest images. Now creative professionals, including photographers, videographers, and filmmakers, can view and edit true-to-life HDR content on a large display they can take anywhere.
Apple is reacting to the situation by deploying another SMT company besides TSMT, they said.
mini-LEDs are transferred on the surface of the circuit board during the SMT process. It is used as backlighting for the liquid crystal display (LCD).
[Hsinchu, Taiwan-based] Epistar manufactures the mini-LED wafers and chips. GIS handles the LCD module.
According to market research firm TrendForce, TSMT and Yenrich handles the SMT process for the Mini LED iPad Pro. Yenrich have gotten support in mini-LED technology from its parent company Epistar.
Multiple South Korean companies are taking part in the production of the backlighting unit of the new tablet. LG Display and Sharp are supplying the LCD panel. Youngpoong Electronics is supplying the flexible printed circuit board, while Heesung Electronics supplied the LCD module. However, their portion of contribution is dwarfed by their Taiwanese counterparts, who are supplying the majority of the components need for the new iPad Pro.
MacDailyNews Take: The 12.9-inch iPad Pro mini-LED display is stunning, but if you want one, order ASAP as the supply crunch is already seeign delivery dates slip into July!
Or, you can wait until Aug to order. By that time Apple will likely have fixed several bugs which are always present in first-gen hardware.