Upcoming 12.9-Inch iPad Pro Supplies Could Be Limited Due to Mini-LED Production Issues

Apple's upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro may be in short supply when it launches due to production issues of the mini-LED display being used in the device, reports Bloomberg.

iPad Pro Mini LED
Apple suppliers are experiencing poor manufacturing yields of the display, and at least one mini-LED maker has had to pause production as a result of these issues.

Though there are troubles with mini-LED display manufacturing, Apple is still intending to introduce new 11 and 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ models as early as this month, and as prior rumors have suggested, the mini-LED display will be exclusive to the larger 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Mini-LED technology will offer multiple benefits, such as a better contrast ratio and improved brightness.

Bloomberg in March said that the refreshed ‌iPad Pro‌ models would come as early as April, but there is still no narrower timeline available. It is not clear if the new tablets will be introduced via press release or if Apple has some kind of event in the works, as the iPad mini is also expected to see a refresh.

Along with a mini-LED display, the new ‌iPad Pro‌ models are expected to feature an A14X chip with M1-like performance and Thunderbolt connectivity.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Siri Finder Feature

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Macworld claims to have access to an internal version of iOS 26 that references several upcoming...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

JPack Avatar
61 months ago

how is mini LED better than OLED? OLED can turn light off per pixel, so it’s inherently better at accurate blacks (miniLED pixels have to share backlighting, so if some are supposed to be black and others are not, the device has to compromise, which causes halos or other artifacts). OLED has better viewing angles. MiniLED more or less wins only for absolute brightness and lack of burn in, unless i’m forgetting something.
Mini LED can more easily achieve full color gamut (Rec. 2020) compared to OLED. It's the next step after DCI-P3. Mini LED also offers higher luminance without the lifetime tradeoffs compared to OLED. All other things are roughly equal, including power consumption.

There seems to be this whole religion on "true blacks" offered by OLED. If you ask what creative professionals actually want, that's not high on their list. Wide color gamut and luminance is.

Every single time MacRumors posts an article about iPad Pro and MacBook Pro moving to mini LED, a number of posters seem genuinely surprised with that news. "Why would iPad Pro get mini LED while iPad Air gets OLED? OLED is clearly better than mini LED, right!?" If it wasn't obvious with the XDR, it should be abundantly clear by now. Mini LED offers more advantages compared to OLED.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wouwout Avatar
61 months ago
why not OLED? Samsung has large OLED tablets. Better than mini LED will ever be
(don't start about burn in, your iphone doesn't have burn in either)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheralSadurns Avatar
61 months ago
I say... shut up and take my money :D



Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0924487 Avatar
61 months ago
By the time Apple releases this miniLED, microLED will be just a few more months away :rolleyes:
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacFan23 Avatar
61 months ago

why not OLED? Samsung has large OLED tablets. Better than mini LED will ever be
(don't start about burn in, your iphone doesn't have burn in either)
Rene Ritchie has said in the past that it's due to a number of factors: brightness uniformity, off-axis colour shift, burn in, pulse-width modulation at lower frequencies:

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
61 months ago
This one you probably wanna wait out.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)