iPad Pro with 12.9 mini-LED display reportedly coming early next year

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Apple's largest tablet is getting a major upgrade

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If you're thinking of buying an iPad Pro, it may be worth holding off just a bit longer. An new iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch mini LED display could be right around the corner, according to a report from Digitimes, which says that iPads with this new and improved display could arrive as soon as the first quarter of 2021.

Apple has long been rumored to be making an iPad with mini LED display technology; according to a report from June, Apple was putting it into trial production.  Applied to a premium device like the iPad Pro, this tech could make one of the best tablets even better.

Mini-LED displays represent a leap over traditional LCD screens; made up of much smaller LEDs (100 to 200 micrometers wide) than currently found on most monitors, mini-LED panels can offer much greater color depth and deeper blacks while producing much higher levels of brightness, making them a truly viable alternative to OLED displays. Mini-LEDs are also more power efficient, another plus for devices that run on battery power.

TCL TVs with mini-LED displays have already launched this year, while Samsung is reportedly releasing its own mini-LED models in 2021. Earlier rumors also pointed to a MacBook Pro with a mini-LED display arriving this year, but that didn't pan out.

Digitimes' story corroborates an earlier report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who said in late November that an iPad with a mini-LED display would arrive in the first half of 2021. However, prior to that, Kuo said this iPad Pro would become available at the end of 2020, so unless Apple has a surprise announcement on New Year's Eve, a 2021 launch date seems more likely. 

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Mike Prospero
Mike Prospero
U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Tom's Guide

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.