Innolux to Supply Mini-LED Panels for iPad Pro to Launch in Second Half of 2020

Monday February 24, 2020 2:18 am PST by Tim Hardwick

Taiwan-based Innolux has won orders to supply Apple with mini-LED panels for a new iPad Pro due to launch later this year, according to a new report today.

Taiwan's Economic Daily News reports that the panel maker has already sent samples to Apple and has now won orders with the tech giant to supply them in bulk for the tablet, said to be launching in the second half of the year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that Apple plans to release four to six products with mini-LED displays over the next two to three years, including a high-end 12.9-inch ‌‌iPad Pro‌ set for launch in the third quarter of 2020‌.

Kuo has said the mini-LED displays will "significantly improve productivity and the entertainment experience," and will allow for thinner and lighter product designs, while offering many of the same benefits of OLED displays used on the latest iPhones, including higher contrast ratio, higher brightness, and deeper blacks.

LG Display and General Interface Solution (GIS) will be the other significant benefactors of these mini-LED products, according to Kuo. Previous reports claim Apple has contracted for related components with Epistar, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology (TSMT), Zhen Ding Technology, and Flexium Interconnect.

Apple is widely rumored to refresh the ‌‌iPad Pro‌‌ in spring 2020. If it does, another new 12.9-inch model in fall 2020 would certainly be an early addition to the range.

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Top Rated Comments

PickUrPoison

87 months ago

This pretty much confirms the IPP is coming later this year. 2 releases in a year is not going to happen.

That would be my preference, with A14X, 5G and mini-LED.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

cmaier

87 months ago

I think I read that mini-LED is as good as OLED in terms of blackness and contrast ratio?

Although having just read what mini-LED means I'm a bit dubious. Sounds like it rather depends how small they are.

The problem is that you can get little halos and areas where the contrast suffers on mini-LED. There isn’t an LED for each pixel, so each LED is responsible for numerous pixels, some of which may want to be black, and some of which need to be lit. So some processor makes a choice - do I light the black pixels or do I not light the pixels that do need to be lit. The end result is a display that is not as good as OLED with respect to contrast/black level (but is better for brightness). More LEDs help, but we don’t know how many LEDs this thing will have.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Nimrad

87 months ago

I like my iPad but when I watch movies on it I'm always bothered by the lack of true blacks on the display. My iPhone's display is better, but too small to really enjoy watching videos.
I'd much rather have OLED on my tablet than on the phone, so hope this rumor turns out to be true!

I agree. OLED/mini-LED/micro-LED would be a welcome addition to the iPad. Also, backlit Smart Keyboard folio would be great. A little tip to Apple: In stead of making The mini-LED version thinner, just put larger batteries in it.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Zdigital2015

87 months ago

That would be my preference, with A14X, 5G and mini-LED.

If I may humbly submit...I would also like the above plus the three camera system, 6GB of DRAM across the board, 128GB starting capacity, a bit thicker with a larger battery or at least no thinner and add the headphone jack back. I use the headphone jack all the time for audio levels monitoring, etc and needing a dongle for that seems silly. I get it for the iPhone, but my iPad rarely ends up in the same peril my iPhone does on a daily basis. Just my 2¢.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

recoil80

87 months ago

I like my iPad but when I watch movies on it I'm always bothered by the lack of true blacks on the display. My iPhone's display is better, but too small to really enjoy watching videos.
I'd much rather have OLED on my tablet than on the phone, so hope this rumor turns out to be true!

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)