Apple Reportedly Spending $200 Million to Improve Mini-LED Production for Upcoming 14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro

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Apple is taking a significant step to improve the production of mini-LED displays for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, by investing $200 million in purchasing new equipment for four brand new mini-LED assembly lines, according to a paywalled report from DigiTimes, seen by MacRumors.

Mini LED MacBook Pro Feature
According to the report, Apple will spend $200 million on procuring additional SMT or surface mounting-technology equipment to create four brand new assembly lines dedicated to mini-LED production for its upcoming MacBook Pros. The investment and purchase Apple hopes will provide an additional monthly SMT capacity of 700,000 to 800,000 mini-LED MacBook Pro devices.

The equipment that Apple is set to purchase will go to the company's main mini-LED module supplier, Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology. The report states that the equipment will be installed at TSMT'S plant in China, and citing a source, the report says that TSMT has confirmed it will be expanding capacity at its plant in Dongguan, southern China.

The new SMT machines to be purchased by Apple are likely to be installed at TSMT's plants in China, the sources said, adding that TSMT has just disclosed plans to enforce capacity expansions at its manufacturing complex in Dongguan, southern China.

Yesterday, a preview of the now published report from DigiTimes indicated that Apple is continuing to struggle with keeping up with mini-LED display demand for its 12.9-inch iPad Pro, announced this past April, and expected demand for its upcoming MacBook Pros. Apple is reportedly looking for additional mini-LED SMT suppliers, including existing supplier Radiant Opto-Electronics.

Related Roundups: MacBook Pro 13", MacBook Pro 16"
Tags: Mini-LED Guide, digitimes
Buyer's Guide: 13" MacBook Pro (Don't Buy), 16" MacBook Pro (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

noraa Avatar
noraa
3 weeks ago

Don’t we have M1 chip for that?

I honestly think it’s the visual appearance from the screen.
The M1 doesn’t magically make LCD displays more power efficient or have better color accuracy. There’s a drastic difference in color reproduction and local dimming with mini-LED vs traditional LCD that the M1 has absolutely nothing to do with.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lamerica80 Avatar
lamerica80
3 weeks ago

What exactly is surface mounting technology?
The technology to mount things on surfaces
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
noraa Avatar
noraa
3 weeks ago

How would mini-LED improve productivity over normal LED on a laptop?
Better color reproduction for creative works and lower power requirements come immediately to mind.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mech986 Avatar
mech986
3 weeks ago

What exactly is surface mounting technology?
It’s a means of soldering very miniaturized components like resistors, capacitors, chips and other parts on printed circuit boards without resorting to component leads, through holes and individual soldering techniques. SMT has been around for 30+ years and really increases component density and utilizes Automated placement and wave soldering techniques which increases productivity and lowers overall production costs. Really came into its own with motherboards.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alan Wynn Avatar
Alan Wynn
3 weeks ago

would I be able to run macOS on this thing?
It is a Macintosh, so yes?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kierkegaarden Avatar
Kierkegaarden
3 weeks ago
I’m holding out for the yocto-LED display.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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