One of the elements of a recent report from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was the suggestion that Apple would be adopting mini-LED backlighting for six products this year …
Epistar is one of the suppliers tipped to provide the mini-LED backlighting, and a supply-chain report today echoes the idea that this will be used in this year’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The Digitimes report is vaguer on the rest.
According to Kuo, the 14.1-inch MacBook Pro will replace the 13-inch model in Apple’s lineup. This comes after Apple replaced the 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 16-inch version last year. In addition to the mini-LED panel, we can also expect the 14-inch MacBook Pro to feature Apple’s new scissor switch Magic Keyboard.
But the 14-inch MacBook Pro is said to be just one of the mini-LED products Apple will release in 2020. The others include a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch iPad mini.
However, the report also references Apple’s Pro Display XDR as an example of a mini LED-backlit LCD product, and that’s not correct; the display uses conventional LED backlighting.
Apple will adopt mini LED backlighting for a 12.9-inch tablet and a few models of LCD monitors and notebooks to be launched by the end of 2020, the sources said.
Other vendors, concerned that Epistar might give supply priority to Apple, have advanced their mini LED orders to the supplier, the sources noted.
A tablet or notebook needs about 10,000 mini LEDs for backlighting and a LCD TV needs at least 40,000 chips, the sources indicated.
