Apple Ramping Up Supply of Mini-LED Displays for New Devices in 2022

Apple is purportedly ramping up mini-LED chip production and bringing more manufacturers into its supply chain to meet demand for new devices in 2022, DigiTimes reports.

iPad Pro Mini LED yellow
Apple has expanded its use of mini-LED technology over the past three years and currently offers three devices that feature mini-LED displays: The Pro Display XDR, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the high-end MacBook Pro. The company is expected to have several new devices with mini-LED displays in the pipeline for launch this year, including the 11-inch iPad Pro, 27-inch iMac Pro, redesigned MacBook Air, and potentially even new external displays.

Taiwan's Epistar is currently Apple's main supplier of mini-LED chips, but the company's growing number of devices with mini-LED displays has reportedly forced it to seek additional suppliers. Citing industry sources, DigiTimes claims that China's Sanan Optoelectronics is significantly undercutting the prices of Apple's current suppliers and has now been granted certification to supply the company with chips for mini-LED backlit displays.

Apple's demand for mini-LED display technology is "expected to significantly increase in 2022," according to ‌DigiTimes‌, likely due to the continued success of the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ Models as well as the launch of new devices. To meet Apple's growing demand, Epistar is expanding its production facilities in China to ramp up production starting in the second quarter of 2022, and Sanan Optoelectronics could begin shipments around the same time.

Mini-LED display technology, which Apple brands as "Liquid Retina XDR" displays, can offer deeper, darker blacks, with better overall contrast, although, unlike OLED displays, they can suffer from a phenomenon called "blooming." ‌Mini-LED‌ displays can also show brighter, richer colors and offer additional benefits such as thinner designs, better power efficiency, and less risk of burn-in or degradation.

Popular Stories

mac mini thermal architecture feature

New Mac Mini Has Modular Storage, 256GB Model Will Have Faster SSD

Friday November 8, 2024 7:06 am PST by
Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips in the new Mac mini with 256GB of storage, according to a partial teardown video shared on social media today. This means the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip will not have significantly slower SSD speeds compared to higher-end configurations of the computer with 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage, as multiple NAND chips allows for faster SSD...
best buy holiday

Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Black Friday sales are continuing today with Best Buy kicking off early Black Friday deals that will last for the next few days. Similar to other retailers, Best Buy's early Black Friday event includes sitewide savings on Apple products, headphones, TVs, monitors, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...
iphone passcode green

Cops Suspect iOS 18 iPhones Are Communicating to Force Reboots, Making Unlocking Harder

Thursday November 7, 2024 2:20 pm PST by
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media. iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
M4 MacBook Pros Thumb

M4 MacBook Pro Reviews: Processor Benchmarks Impress, New Nano-Texture Option Worth the Extra $150

Thursday November 7, 2024 6:14 am PST by
The first wave of reviews of Apple's new M4-powered MacBook Pro models were published this morning. We've collected some of the latest impressions from YouTube channels and select media outlets below. Apple last month announced the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding next-generation M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, with Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display and camera ...
High Power Mode Feature 2

Apple Expands High Power Mode to MacBook Pro and Mac Mini Models With M4 Pro Chip

Thursday November 7, 2024 12:15 pm PST by
High Power Mode is available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham. The feature was previously limited to Macs with Apple's highest-end "Max" chip, so this is the first time it is available on Macs with a "Pro" chip. This is the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power...
early apple watch black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Watch Deals

Wednesday November 6, 2024 6:33 am PST by
Black Friday is just around the corner, and Apple Watch deals have begun appearing ahead of the shopping holiday on November 29. In this article, we'll take a look at all of the best early Black Friday Apple Watch deals, including the new Series 10 models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
iOS 18 Notes Feature

How to Fix iPhone Notes Disappearing After Accepting New iCloud Terms

Thursday November 7, 2024 7:57 am PST by
Apple in September updated its iCloud terms and conditions with some minor changes, and this week it has been notifying iPhone users that they must accept the revised terms in order to continue using iCloud. Unfortunately, after accepting the new terms, some iPhone users have seen all of their notes disappear in the Notes app. While some users have turned to social media to justifiably panic ...

Top Rated Comments

nepalisherpa Avatar
35 months ago
While I do notice blooming especially in a very dark environment (such as at night with lights turned off), I LOVE the display on the 12.9. Watching HDR (especially Apple TV+ shows) has been amazing and I could never go back to "gray black".
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalafalas Avatar
35 months ago
MiniLED does not offer thinner designs over oled. In fact miniLED is quite thick, even thicker than edge lit.

I still dream of an 11” OLED iPad, but miniLED will do. Come on march 8th!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
35 months ago
Beautiful, maybe next week we will see a new mac mini along side with one of the upcoming external display?!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sir_Macs_A_Lot Avatar
35 months ago

I'm excited for both a new 11" iPad Pro and 27-30" iMac (hoping both have miniLED), but I'm not getting my hopes up for next week...
Apple could always announce it with a future release date. They do it all of the time.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
svish Avatar
35 months ago
Definitely expecting to see 11” iPad Pro this year with mini LED.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GuruZac Avatar
35 months ago

While I do notice blooming especially in a very dark environment (such as at night with lights turned off), I LOVE the display on the 12.9. Watching HDR (especially Apple TV+ shows) has been amazing and I could never go back to "gray black".
Yeah I never use my iPad Pro in a totally dark room (really bad on the eyes), so the blooming is a non-issue. For all the other benefits you get with the miniLED display, I’ll accept the blooming. It’s definitely there, but only noticeable in dark lighting.

As far as what they might offer, I can see an iMac Pro with the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, with either 24” or 27” display, Pro colors, so silver or space grey, miniLED display, and the extra ports of the new MacBook Pros. That would sell really well. I can’t see an M2 MacBook Pro 13” launching right now.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)