12.9-inch iPad Pro with mini-LED screen, rumored to launch in the first quarter of 2021

Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Mini-LED display will launch in the first quarter of 2021, according to a new report from DigiTimes. The report states that Apple has diversified its supply chain for monitors and touch panels, with BOE finally gaining approval to provide OLED panels for the iPhone and GIS moving to provide touch panels for the ‌iPhone‌ and the future ‌iPad Pro‌.

GIS approved investments of NT $ 2.198 billion (US $ 76.3 million) and NT $ 1.421 billion proposed by its subsidiary in Chengdu, China in August and November 2020, respectively, with the funds to focus on expanding the capacity of production of integrated touch modules used in tablets, the sources said. The subsidiary will invest an additional NT $ 753 million to improve the automation of the production line. The subsidiary currently produces integrated touch modules for iPads and MacBooks, the sources said.

In addition to iPhones, GIS will produce integrated touch modules for 12.9-inch LiPad Pro‌ miniLED backlit panels to be launched in the first quarter of 2021, the sources note.

Apple is rumored to be preparing a 12.9-inch PiPad Pro‌ with a ‌Mini-LED‌ screen, which will offer a number of improvements over current iPad screens, including darker blacks, brighter sparkles, richer colors and better contrast. Using thousands of individual LEDs to illuminate the screen, the technology is expected to offer many of the benefits offered by OLED displays, but without some of the disadvantages of this technology.

Previous reports, including that of noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, indicated that the ‌Mini-LED‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ will be released sometime in the first half of 2021, but today’s report from DigiTimes indicates that the premiere is scheduled for the beginning of that period.

Looking beyond the next generation ‌iPad Pro‌, there have been some reports stating that Apple is looking to transition the line to OLED display technology, although it seems unlikely that Apple will switch only briefly to ‌Mini-LED‌ before making the transition again for OLED. A rumor asserted that the OLED ‌iPad Pro‌ will be launched in the second half of 2021, but a more recent report states that the change is unlikely to happen until at least 2022.