What you need to know
- Apple supplier Epistar confirmed its clients are working on Mini-LED products.
- It didn't confirm that was Apple, but it does reinforce previous rumors that say Apple is working on Mini-LED iPads and MacBooks.
- Mini-LED displays allow for slimmer designs while still offering the benefits of OLED panels.
Apple supplier Epistar confirmed some of its clients are developing devices that will utilize Mini-LED displays. The confirmation comes as rumors circulate of Apple is planning to integrate Mini-LED display into future generations of the iPad and Macs.
Epistar president Chin-Yung Fan confirmed the development of Mini-LED displays by its clients to incorperate into notebooks, tablets, smartphones and monitors, according to DigiTimes (via MacRumors). It did not confirm which clients it was speaking of, but it led to speculation that it could be Apple given previous rumors about its connection to Mini-LED displays.
Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed Apple plans on releasing a new iPad with a Mini-LED display in the fourth quarter of 2020 while the first Mini-LED MacBook could come in early 2021.
The allure of Mini-LED displays is that they allow for slim designs while still offering most of the benefits of OLED panels: wide color gamut, dynamic range and truer black levels. That's in part due to the number of LEDs they pack. For reference, the Pro Display XDR comes with 576 individual LEDs while Mini-LED displays could offer as many as 10,000 LEDs.
Apple still hasn't confirmed any of this, but this could be one of the next major additions to the iPad and MacBook.
