iPad Pro With Mini-LED Display Reportedly in Trial Production, Late 2020 Launch Possible But 2021 More Likely

Apple's rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Mini-LED display has entered trial production, according to Korean website The Elec.

The report claims that LG will supply the Mini-LED panels for the device, while Foxconn will be tasked with final assembly. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Mini-LED technology will allow for thinner and lighter product designs, while offering many of the same benefits of OLED displays, including high contrast and dynamic range.

The new iPad Pro will launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 at the earliest, the report adds, but a release next year appears more likely at this point. Earlier this month, it was rumored that new iPad Pro models with a Mini-LED display, A14X chip, and 5G connectivity will launch in the first half of 2021, a timeframe that several other sources have echoed.

Apple last refreshed the iPad Pro in March, but it was a relatively minor update, with new features including an A12Z Bionic chip that is essentially an A12X chip with an extra GPU core enabled, an Ultra Wide camera that enables 0.5x zoom, a LiDAR Scanner for enhanced augmented reality, and better sounding microphones. It was the first update to the iPad Pro since the device received a major redesign in October 2018.

Apple is also expected to release its first Macs with Mini-LED displays by the end of 2021.