iPad Pro mini LED-backlight expected in early 2021, MacBook later in year
Apple will use mini LED for the backlight of a "high-end MacBook" in late 2021, a report claims, a device that will follow after the launch of a 12.9-inch iPad Pro using the display technology in early 2021.
MacBook Pro
Osram Opto Semiconductors is reportedly going to become Apple's second supplier of mini LED chips alongside Epistar, according to people familiar with the matter. The supply of mini LED chips from Osram will apparently start in 2021, with the chips intended for an updated MacBook model which would ship in the second half of 2021.
The industry sources of DigiTimes claim the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will use mini LED backlights, and will ship in early 2021, with each using over 10,000 mini LEDs. Epistar is thought to be ready to produce mini LEDs, with a production line for making blue-light LEDs modified for creating the smaller components during the third quarter of 2020.
The report's claim surrounding the iPad Pro model correlates with an earlier September 21 analyst note from Ming-Chi Kuo, which claimed Apple was sourcing mini LED chips for a future iPad model from more than one supplier. Epistar was previously thought to be the only provider of mini LED chips to Apple in 2021, but there have been rumblings of others being introduced to the supply chain.
Kuo also suggested the launch of a mini LED MacBook, though for release in 2020 rather than late 2021.
For the MacBook, Osram Opto is anticipated to be the supplier, following after it provided backlight-use LEDs for the Apple Watch and iPhone, with the expansion to MacBook mini LEDs being a natural extension. Osram is thought to have set up an initial monthly production capacity of 100 million LEDs at its plant in Malaysia.
Osram Opto isn't the only company that could become a second supplier of mini LED, as Sanan Optoelectronics is also in the process of being validated by Apple. Having multiple suppliers for a component is useful to Apple in a number of ways, including potentially cutting the cost of the component down as suppliers attempt to secure more orders.
In its bid to maintain its position, Epistar is also said to be aiming to increase its yield rates for mini LEDs, raising from under 80% to approximately 85% by Q4 2020, then to 90% or more in the first half of 2021. The increased yields should help reduce the cost of production per sold chip for Epistar.
DigiTimes has good sources within the supply chain. However, the publication's interpretation of Apple's future plans has a notably worse track record.
MacBook Pro
Osram Opto Semiconductors is reportedly going to become Apple's second supplier of mini LED chips alongside Epistar, according to people familiar with the matter. The supply of mini LED chips from Osram will apparently start in 2021, with the chips intended for an updated MacBook model which would ship in the second half of 2021.
The industry sources of DigiTimes claim the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will use mini LED backlights, and will ship in early 2021, with each using over 10,000 mini LEDs. Epistar is thought to be ready to produce mini LEDs, with a production line for making blue-light LEDs modified for creating the smaller components during the third quarter of 2020.
The report's claim surrounding the iPad Pro model correlates with an earlier September 21 analyst note from Ming-Chi Kuo, which claimed Apple was sourcing mini LED chips for a future iPad model from more than one supplier. Epistar was previously thought to be the only provider of mini LED chips to Apple in 2021, but there have been rumblings of others being introduced to the supply chain.
Kuo also suggested the launch of a mini LED MacBook, though for release in 2020 rather than late 2021.
For the MacBook, Osram Opto is anticipated to be the supplier, following after it provided backlight-use LEDs for the Apple Watch and iPhone, with the expansion to MacBook mini LEDs being a natural extension. Osram is thought to have set up an initial monthly production capacity of 100 million LEDs at its plant in Malaysia.
Osram Opto isn't the only company that could become a second supplier of mini LED, as Sanan Optoelectronics is also in the process of being validated by Apple. Having multiple suppliers for a component is useful to Apple in a number of ways, including potentially cutting the cost of the component down as suppliers attempt to secure more orders.
In its bid to maintain its position, Epistar is also said to be aiming to increase its yield rates for mini LEDs, raising from under 80% to approximately 85% by Q4 2020, then to 90% or more in the first half of 2021. The increased yields should help reduce the cost of production per sold chip for Epistar.
DigiTimes has good sources within the supply chain. However, the publication's interpretation of Apple's future plans has a notably worse track record.
Comments
I actually thought I would replace this iPad Pro 10.5 after a year, but lo and behold, still typing on it.
The most important things to me are:
1. miniLED display
2. 8 GB of RAM (would hope they offer a 16 GB option)
3. Extended display support for external displays with overlapping apps (really a software thing)
4. Continued software keyboard refinement. Would like to have 3 row keyboard
5. USB4/TB3 enabled Smart Connector and ports
2, I can see 8 GB or 16 GB but not both, so I expect 8 GB
3. Will need to be a feature in the near future, but I don't expect it from Apple this spring
4. I don't have an opinion on that
5. Seems too early, but would be a massive hit with actual pro's, especially if 16 GB and external display (6K!) and GPU support. What's not to like?
Apple Silicon is also said to be designed around a unified memory architecture that's going to feed GPUs, ML/neural units, as well as higher core count CPUs. The A14X will notionally have 4 performance A14 CPU cores, at least 8 A14 GPU cores, and whatever else not described so far. Don't think you can get away with 8 GB of RAM and rely on fast NAND and memory compression to support higher end workflows utilizing all this compute hardware.
Currently, I do think Apple will continue to expand the iPad feature set to include extended desktop support and VM support of some kind. Maybe not in say iPadOS 14.4, whatever version they will be at in March, but it's coming imo. How they differentiate between Macs and iPad Pros, who knows, but I hope they evolve both product lines on their own tracks as fast as possible.
There's really no technical reason where there is a docking station, like the upper half of a Magic Keyboard, that you can magnetically latch your iPad Pro to, and that fires up an external display, external storage, keyboard, trackpads, accessories, and you can operate your iPad like a desktop computer. And, when it's time to go somewhere, you just grab the iPad Pro and go. Or a variant where you can use an iPad Pro as the input device, both software keyboard and software trackpad, and it can extend its display to an external monitor.
The 3 row software keyboard is based on my usage. I only use the software keyboard. The current software keyboard with 4 rows of keys and a half height "Touch Bar" takes up too much space. You can turn off the half height touch bar to make it smaller. But if the keyboard is only 3 rows, that gives you another 0.75" of vertical display space for app content. Heck, to give even more vertical display space, I think iPad Pros should have 5:4 aspect ratio displays.
Are there any other advantages?
I’m not sure you understand the difference between primary and secondary storage. In the end it doesn’t matter how fast secondary storage is.
LCDs still have higher subpixel and pixel density than OLEDs, so a 458 ppi miniLED on a phone will be sharper than the 458 ppi OLED in Apple's models. Not many points of comparison for tablet OLEDs versus LCDs. You should most certainly choose a 264 ppi miniLED over a 264 ppi Pentile OLED, but I would imagine a vendor would go for an RGB OLED over RGBG OLED at that type of density.
Thanks
“Your computer’s main memory is called RAM. You can think of it as a workspace the computer uses to get work done. When you double-click on an app, or open a document, or, well, do much of anything, RAM gets used to store that data while the computer is working on it. Modern computers often come equipped with 4, 8, 16 or more gigabytes of RAM pre-installed.
There’s also storage: a hard disk drive or solid state drive where data is recorded and can stay indefinitely, to be recalled as necessary. That might be a tax return, a poem in a word processor, or an email. By comparison, RAM is volatile — the information that’s put in there disappears when the power is turned off or when the computer is reset. Stuff written to disk stays there permanently until it’s erased, or until the storage medium fails.”
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/whats-diff-ram-vs-storage/