Apple Still Expected to Launch High End 12.9-inch iPad Pro With Mini LED Display Tech in Fourth Quarter of 2020

[The Game 161]

Yeah this is just a weird refresh. Hopefully the new iPad will come with the A14X and huge gains in performance aside from the miniLED which seems like a huge upgrade on its own.

Mini LED isn’t a huge upgrade. Micro LED would be

 

[washburn]

It's not. Micro-LED would be better. Mini-LED still require Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) which will cause blooming. It will have similar contrast and brightness to OLED.

Why doesn’t Apple go with OLED, Samsung is already making OLED tablets?

 

[PickUrPoison]

It's not. Micro-LED would be better. Mini-LED still require Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) which will cause blooming. It will have similar contrast and brightness to OLED.

MicroLED at the required pixel density is not available. They are currently unmanufacturable as I understand it.
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Hopefully, Apple doesn't increase the price on this tremendously... (Probably will).

If Apple’s costs go up tremendously, the price will go up tremendously. Not sure there’s any other option, is there?

 

[Jury]

OLED is absolutely fine for the iPad and it’s much cheaper than any alternative.

 

[newyorksole]

Apple trying to pull another iPad 4 on us.

Literally the first thing I thought of! Lmao. Wasn’t that in 2012?
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Still crossing my fingers for an iMac update today 🖥

I have mixed feelings on it. After 10 years I couldn’t wait and pulled the trigger in November. I’ll sell it if they come out with a redesign.

 

[Jury]

It will be better than OLED in an iPad. For small screens like iPhones, OLED is fine. As screen size increases and their use case varies in changing environments, devises like iPads and MacBooks need LED to get higher brightness levels. Mini LED will go brighter than regular FALD LED and OLED panels, so it will be an improvement.

Not really, the battery life will be worse by using Mini-LED and won't be better than OLED in brightness, contrast and cost more to produce but won't affect the product price.

 

[Falhófnir]

If Apple’s costs go up tremendously, the price will go up tremendously. Not sure there’s any other option, is there?

If this costs more (I'm fully expecting it will) it won't be because the display tech costs 'go up tremendously' - it's just an LCD with a fancy backlight. I just hope it will come with an A14X; 8GB RAM and start at one of the higher storage tiers to help justify the cost.

 

[PortoMavericks]

It's not. Micro-LED would be better. Mini-LED still require Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) which will cause blooming. It will have similar contrast and brightness to OLED.

That’s exactly what the guy asked, “isn’t still LCD?”.

 

[Super Xander]

I just think that this will be a third and higher option to the 2020 lineup, some kind of an exclusive iPad Pro.

Starting price target might be around 1100-1200 dollars and have the A14X chip and better speakers.

 

[Falhófnir]

I expect it to partially replace and sit above the just-released model:

Early 2020 iPP 12.9:
128GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $999
256GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,099
512GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,299 <-current model for reference

Late 2020 iPP XDR 12.9:
512GB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,399
1TB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,599

$100 more than an equivalent early 2020 might seem too little, but remember that with higher storage tier models the margin is already padded by the cents on the dollar cost of storage, plus they will want to entice you to buy this model, so making it a tempting price over the existing ones is key.

 

[Prof.]

I thought the iPad Pro was the high end iPad... So now we're going to have a high end high end iPad?

 

[jmgregory1]

I expect it to partially replace and sit above the just-released model:

Early 2020 iPP 12.9:
128GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $999
256GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,099
512GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,299 <-current model for reference

Late 2020 iPP XDR 12.9:
512GB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,399
1TB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,599

$100 more than an equivalent early 2020 might seem too little, but remember that with higher storage tier models the margin is already padded by the cents on the dollar cost of storage, plus they will want to entice you to buy this model, so making it a tempting price over the existing ones is key.

I think you’re going down the right path, but I do believe that they’ll have a lower starting point on the mini-led version of $1199 for a 256gb version (hopefully with 8gb+ of ram), then jump to $1399 for 512gb and $1499 for the 1tb version.

Knowing that this is a potential is going to keep me from upgrading my 2018 (bought in early 2019) 12.9” and simply wait for the fall release - if it looks like a meaningful enough upgrade. I only need the 256gb of storage (I use Apple’s 2tb of iCloud storage already) and that’s worked great for my needs. Plus I’ll already have the new Magic Keyboard cover for the 12.9”, so it should be easy to swap in the new model once released.

I wonder if the new mini-led screen, being thinner than the current led, will allow for a higher capacity battery? That’s the one thing I think the iPad Pro’s could use. I remember back in the early iPad days when you could get 18 or more hours of use out of them. Obviously they couldn’t do what today’s models do, so that accounts for some of the difference. If I could get closer to 18+ hours, more like my iPhone 11 Pro Max gets, that would be worth the upgrade alone.

 

[gnipgnop]

I expect it to partially replace and sit above the just-released model:

Early 2020 iPP 12.9:
128GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $999
256GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,099
512GB - A12Z, 6GB RAM, $1,299 <-current model for reference

Late 2020 iPP XDR 12.9:
512GB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,399
1TB - A14X, 8GB RAM, $1,599

It doesn't seem likely that you would get an A14X + 2 additional GB of RAM + Mini LED for only $100 more than an A12Z iPad Pro. That doesn't really make any sense from a cost perspective. More likely: 1TB iPP with Mini LED and 8GB of RAM (same A12Z processor).

 

[nfl46]

That price won’t be pretty. Lol. MBP territory at that point.

I’d guess $1,199 + Magic Keyboard ($349) + Pencil ($129) = $1,677.

Yikes!

 

[Mansu944]

How much $$$$$ ?

 

[Ludatyk]

in terms of mobility, it’s just too unwieldy and large for everyday portability with holding.

I've had this mindset as soon as I had the first generation 12.9" iPad Pro. I've had every 12.9" iPP from the 1st to 3rd generation (planning on skipping this 4th generation). And after years traveling with it... I've grown accustomed to the size. I always purchase the LTE model... so whenever I go out, I always take it with me. It's my favorite Apple device... and I'll most certainly buy the mini-LED model. However, I highly doubt it comes in fall 2020. I envision a Spring 2021 release...

 

[satchmo]

Unless this is a 14’’ iPad Pro, then it’s just going make for an even greater mess and confusion in the iPad lineup. What are you going to call this, iPad Pro Pro?

 

[PickUrPoison]

It doesn't seem likely that you would get an A14X + 2 additional GB of RAM + Mini LED for only $100 more than an A12Z iPad Pro. That doesn't really make any sense from a cost perspective. More likely: 1TB iPP with Mini LED and 8GB of RAM (same A12Z processor).

I think you’re right that a $100 delta is too low. The iPad Pro XDR moniker proposed by @Falhófnir is a very good prediction, but I think the price difference for a new tier could be more like $300, and possibly only higher storage capacities would be available.

5G could also be bundled along with the other feature upgrades at least initially, at something like +$500 overall. A WiFi-only model could follow a few months later, at +$300 for instance.

 

[CWallace]

Better than OLED? How is that possible, isn’t miniled still LCD with thicker layer/glass compared with OLED?

The article noted mini-LED is not better than OLED, but does offer similar benefits compared to the current LED panels.

If this is the case, really makes me wonder why the just announced 2020 iPad Pro couldn't come last fall.

My first guess would be to support the new trackpad-equipped keyboards, but those also work with the 2018 model. So my second guess is that it is to support other hardware features coming in iPad OS 14 to allow developers to get their applications in place before that OS ships in the Fall.

Why doesn’t Apple go with OLED, Samsung is already making OLED tablets?

I am going to guess cost and battery life. Mini-LED will give many of the benefits (as others have listed up-thread) while still providing strong battery life and a lower (if not low) price tag.

 

[Jury]

That price won’t be pretty. Lol. MBP territory at that point.

I’d guess $1,199 + Magic Keyboard ($349) + Pencil ($129) = $1,677.

Yikes!

If that's the case, Tim Cook needs to stop overpriced the new model of Apple products like iPad Pro and accessories before it gets worse.

 

[iPadified]

Sounds logical as there is no high end iPP unless you accept the 1 Tb as high end option. A better screen, even more RAM, 12.9 and 15 inch screens should be sufficient to call it high end iPP. I am not sure if the A14X will be exclusive to a higher end iPP model, I think it will be rolled out to all iPP.

A12Z and A12X are not underpowered. I gather that these iPP will be usable for 5-6 years depending on what you do.

People complain too much about the absolute price. Discuss the value instead.

 

[Jury]

I think you’re right that a $100 delta is too low. The iPad Pro XDR moniker proposed by @Falhófnir is a very good prediction, but I think the price difference for a new tier could be more like $300, and possibly only higher storage capacities would be available.

5G could also be bundled along with the other feature upgrades at least initially, at something like +$500 overall. A WiFi-only model could follow a few months later, at +$300 for instance.

No. Any price increase due to Mini-LED does not make sense due to the fact it is not much better than conventional LED/OLED.

 

[aknabi]

Tim Cook needs to stop overpriced the new model of Apple products and accessories before it gets worse.

I find your lack of loyalty disturbing

 

[Jury]

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I find your lack of loyalty disturbing

You mean charging $1000 for a monitor stand is reasonably priced? No!

 

[sir_naggs]

Can anyone comment on why the Fall release Pro model would only come in 12.9" and not 11"? I read somewhere that the mini LED is difficult to implement on smaller screens but the article is suggesting that the tech could be used on a iPad mini as well...so that seems irrelevant.