The iPad you really want just got delayed until 2021

iPad Pro 12.9 (2020)
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If you were looking forward to Apple using its upcoming mini LED display on your next tablet or laptop, there's bad news. You're most likely going to be waiting until next year for these upgraded Macs and iPads.

AppleInsider has reported another investor note written by reliable Apple predictor Ming Chi Kuo, who now claims that we'll see Apple's new display tech at the start of 2021 rather than by the end of this year.

Apple's mini LED technology takes regular LED displays and makes them smaller. This allows for brighter and more colorful images, and the use of "dimming zones" to make the screen's output easier to control than a normal LED or OLED panel. The new display type should also end up being cheaper to make too, hopefully reducing the price of MacBooks and iPads for customers.

Mini LED was meant to appear on six new products this year. Those include a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a new standard iPad and iPad Mini, a new iMac Pro, an upgraded 16-inch MacBook Pro and the rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro. The latter model is expected to replace the 13-inch version of Apple's flagship laptop.

While Kuo had said that Apple would make it through the coronavirus pandemic without needing to delay these products, he has now revised this prediction. That's based on information that Apple's LED chip suppliers Epistar and FitTech are preparing to produce mini LED components starting in Q3 of this year, with assembly of products likely to take place in Q4 and potentially Q1 2021.

However, Kuo does say that we shouldn't be too concerned by this delay. He claims that Apple will be using this technology for several years, and that investors will see plenty of sales of the devices using mini LED displays from 2021 to 2022 once these products debut.

Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.