New 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, 2020 iMac Pro may sport Mini LED displays
Apple is preparing to launch six products in 2020 using Mini LED, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, with updates across the iPad, iMac Pro, and MacBook Pro lines using the display technology, including a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro.
The anticipated product lineup for 2020 usually includes quite a few upgrades to existing models, though every so often Apple adds extra features like new keyboards in the MacBook Pro. It is claimed by TF Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple will be employing Mini LED display technology in a wide variety of products.
Advised in an investor note seen by AppleInsider, Kuo predicts there will be six products that will include Mini LED for the display this year. The list for mobile devices includes the previously-rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro, as well as the 10.2-inch iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad mini.
On the Mac side, Kuo believes Apple will use Mini LED in a refreshed 27-inch iMac Pro, as well as an updated 16-inch MacBook Pro. Like last year's move from a 15.4-inch screen to a 16-inch display, Kuo believes Apple will replace the current 13-inch model with a 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Beyond a fourth quarter debut for the 27-inch iMac Pro, Kuo fails to detail specific launch timelines for the expected Mini LED products.
Despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak affecting Apple's supply chain, Kup predicts the product development of Mini LED will "remain unaffected" by the virus. "The visibility for commercialization has even exceeded the expectations in our previous report," writes the analyst.
As for when to expect the launches, Kuo offers only a forecasted launch for the iMac Pro in the fourth quarter of 2020. In late February, Kuo tipped for the updated iPad Pro model using the display technology to roll out in late 2020.
Update: Adds detail from source material. The original report was based on a post from MacRumors.
The anticipated product lineup for 2020 usually includes quite a few upgrades to existing models, though every so often Apple adds extra features like new keyboards in the MacBook Pro. It is claimed by TF Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple will be employing Mini LED display technology in a wide variety of products.
Advised in an investor note seen by AppleInsider, Kuo predicts there will be six products that will include Mini LED for the display this year. The list for mobile devices includes the previously-rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro, as well as the 10.2-inch iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad mini.
On the Mac side, Kuo believes Apple will use Mini LED in a refreshed 27-inch iMac Pro, as well as an updated 16-inch MacBook Pro. Like last year's move from a 15.4-inch screen to a 16-inch display, Kuo believes Apple will replace the current 13-inch model with a 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Beyond a fourth quarter debut for the 27-inch iMac Pro, Kuo fails to detail specific launch timelines for the expected Mini LED products.
Despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak affecting Apple's supply chain, Kup predicts the product development of Mini LED will "remain unaffected" by the virus. "The visibility for commercialization has even exceeded the expectations in our previous report," writes the analyst.
As for when to expect the launches, Kuo offers only a forecasted launch for the iMac Pro in the fourth quarter of 2020. In late February, Kuo tipped for the updated iPad Pro model using the display technology to roll out in late 2020.
Update: Adds detail from source material. The original report was based on a post from MacRumors.
Comments
Thinking that Apple has a change in the products lineup will require more data or an actual announcement from Apple.
Asus ProArt PA32UCX
The reviewer gave it high marks... for what it’s worth.
It looks like our expectations should be better colors and reduced eye strain on the MacBook Pro with a miniLED screen.
The author assumes the reader is familiar with Mini LED tech since it has been a frequent topic on Appleinsider and other tech sites. Mini LED is a known display technology, unfortunately often confused with Micro LED. It is backlighting tech that improves local dimming, providing contrast closer to OLED. It is used in conjunction with LCD tech primarily, and more recently with Quantum Dot tech in TCL's top of the line TV's. It's not going to replace LCD because it can't produce an image. It's basically a backlight on steroids. It is an alternative to OLED and Micro LED (when it becomes widely commercially viable ← no time soon imo)
The Pro Display XDR does not have a monolithic backlight. It has an array of 576 of them, each of them lighting a 1/576th section of the display. Each of those 576 backlights likely have at least 3 LEDs along their edges, lighting up a small compartment to provide an uniform backlight for its 1/576th portion of the screen. This is the very definition of a what a miniLED is. Apple’s moving forward to having denser arrays of backlights with these new displays.
From the timing of the new iMac Pro, that might use the new Ice Lake Xeon that is supposed to come out in the 3rd/4th quarter. That's supposed to use the new Sunny Cove core, which has 18% higher IPC than Skylake. Since the iMac Pro is thermally constrained, higher IPC is especially helpful.
What I'd love to see from a price/performance perspective is Ryzen 9 in a non-pro iMac. But I guess that's unlikely, given Apple's allegiance to Intel.