Apple Working on Six Mini-LED Products Including New 14.1-Inch MacBook Pro and Refreshed iMac Pro

[CWallace]

Or maybe they want to have the "Pro" devices have it first?

*nods*

If yields are low, this would make sense as the iMac Pro sells in lower volumes.

If the panels are also more expensive, Apple could absorb that cost better in the more expensive iMac Pro as the replacement W-2200 series Intel Xeon CPUs are cheaper than the W-2100 series in the current iMac Pro so Apple "trade margin" between components.

 

[Freida]

I think it was microLED as miniLED (in this case) would be a step back.
And yeah, weird about the iMac. I hope we get iMac refresh too otherwise this will be crazy.
Unless it really is redesign wait but in that case why not iMac Pro too?

To be fair, the Watch has long been rumored to get a Micro-LED or Mini-LED display.


Interesting that the iMac Pro is said to be getting a 27" Mini-LED display, but no mention of the iMac 5K also getting one. Seems like Apple would want to use the same panel...

 

[VPRunner]

14.1 inch macbook pro????? Take my money!

No take MY money!

 

[the future]

Looking forward to the redesigned 13” MacBook Pro.

Surprised the Apple Watch isn’t listed as getting the Mini-LED treatment.

The Apple Watch will probably make the jump directly to micro LED. Just like the (higher end) iPhones, the Watch already has an OLED display that is arguably better than mini LED.

 

[HVDynamo]

To be fair, the Watch has long been rumored to get a Micro-LED or Mini-LED display.


Interesting that the iMac Pro is said to be getting a 27" Mini-LED display, but no mention of the iMac 5K also getting one. Seems like Apple would want to use the same panel...

The watch would never go to MiniLED, it will only jump to MicroLED once it is available. MiniLED is still an LCD panel but with multiple LED back lights that can have the brightness adjusted separately to help improve blacks on an LCD panel. Very very different tech, and going to it would be a step backwards on the watch. MicroLED is the true replacement to OLED where the LED's will create their own light just like OLED. MiniLED is a nice tech, but not a huge deal to be honest, it will just allow local dimming zones like we have had on LCD TV's for a while now.

 

[69Mustang]

I think one thing is for certain for those who are requesting it, OLED for the iPad is not Apples vision moving forward. I think mini LED offers far more tangible benefits in terms of a wider color gamut/battery conservation/efficiency over OLED. But I suspect we won’t see any advancements with displays until the latter part of 2021 at the earliest, but nonetheless, it’s coming.

This is incorrect. You're probably mistaking mini led with micro led. Mini led is backlighting tech. All the benefits you've attributed to mini led belong to micro led.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

On a small laptop screen the advantages of mini led are not going to be very big, enjoy your 16".

What makes the changes more noticeable on a larger screen?

 

[triton100]

Perhaps I'm out of the loop, but just what is the point of continuing the Touch Bar -- and if it is so important, so necessary to the "Apple experience," so popular, so easy to use, then why isn't it available on any of Apple's stand-alone keyboards? Why is it only on the laptops?

tired of this same old comment. The Touch Bar is Excellent and very useful for many. Buy a pc if it’s not useful for you.

 

[HVDynamo]

I really disagree. Apart from gimmicky nonsense I haven't found a single useful case that would justify the crappy bar. I'll investigate in FCPX but from what I've tested so far in there it was just that. Gimmick.

And I miss those F keys. Super useful and far superior to the bar. Just simple volume up/down is difficult. With physical F keys it was so simple and so fast/intuitive.

So no, TB was a huge misstep for Apple in my opinion. Just like the stupid keyboard design.

Yeah, I really wish they would more or less go back to the 2015 design entirely, just add a USB C or two port that you can charge from in addition to MagSafe and I would buy that the instant it is available. Instead I will continue to run my mid2012 cMBP until it just doesn't work anymore.

 

[LuciusWrong]

rhe most generic news ever from Ming as well.

Wheres the excitement? We're supposed to be excited, right? Horray for screen that is almost the same size as the old one, and that will probably not end up being micro LED.

Im betting the change of screen size is Apple making a clean break from the butterfly machines. It worked for the 15.4" to 16" change, so it is predictable that they would do the same on the 13".

The 16" was rumored to me micro LED or OLED, as astute observers will no doubt recall.

 

[HVDynamo]

tired of this same old comment. The Touch Bar is Excellent and very useful for many. Buy a pc if it’s not useful for you.

You are allowed to like it, and they are allowed to dislike it. I'm in the dislike camp, but mostly because it replaces the function keys. If they kept the function keys and just put the touchbar above it, I wouldn't care. But if I could choose between function keys or touchbar, function keys all the way.

 

[MikhailT]

tired of this same old comment. The Touch Bar is Excellent and very useful for many. Buy a pc if it’s not useful for you.

For me, Touchbar get stuck and resets multiple times a day and I've mentioned this to Apple. Some got responses from Apple saying it is a software issue and they expect it to get better in future software updates. Some mentioned the issue got worse with Catalina.

I've asked about Touchbar at my company, only 1 out of 200+ mac users found the touch bar useful. Most would not miss anything if Apple brings back the function keys.

Apple hasn't done anything to improve Touch Bar experience in the last two years, they didn't even mention it much either.

Apple needs to get their crap together and either improve it or get rid of it. They failed with 3D touch and they're failing with touch bar as well.

 

[HVDynamo]

Wheres the excitement? We're supposed to be excited, right? Horray for screen that is almost the same size as the old one, and that will probably not end up being micro LED.

Im betting the change of screen size is Apple making a clean break from the butterfly machines. It worked for the 15.4" to 16" change, so it is predictable that they would do the same on the 13".

The 16" was rumored to me micro LED or OLED, as astute observers will no doubt recall.

I hope they never put OLED on a laptop or desktop screen. It's the worst use case for burn-in, and I just don't want to think about that on my computer.

 

[jonblatho]

Perhaps I'm out of the loop, but just what is the point of continuing the Touch Bar -- and if it is so important, so necessary to the "Apple experience," so popular, so easy to use, then why isn't it available on any of Apple's stand-alone keyboards? Why is it only on the laptops?

The way the Touch Bar works presents a bit of a technical conundrum when it comes to implementing it on a standalone keyboard. I’m sure there have been prototypes but that nothing’s been up to snuff thus far. The Touch Bar software runs on bridgeOS, a descendant of watchOS which itself runs on the T2 (or T1) chip inside the Mac. macOS talks to bridgeOS to tell it what to display on the Touch Bar, and this system is fully self-contained on Touch Bar laptops, so there’s no appreciable lag.

Long story short, Apple would likely need to add some processor to the keyboard to display things on the Touch Bar — it doesn’t necessarily have to be a full T2 chip with all its other functions — and it would have to receive instructions from the wirelessly connected Mac regarding what to display.

That’d be fine for displaying plain text and text buttons, but as bandwidth needs increase — think the tab screenshots shown in the Touch Bar while using Safari — Bluetooth may start to suffer, and that’s just considering lag time. What are the battery life implications? I can only guess it’d be less than the current Magic Keyboard unless they manage to cram a significantly bigger battery in there.

With new wireless technologies like UWB, it’s possible that this would help ease at least some of the technical issues that currently surround a wireless keyboard with a Touch Bar, but we’ll have to wait and see what (if anything) they come up with. As of now, it’s workable but probably not a great experience which is likely why nothing along these lines has shipped.

 

[MacGekko]

14.1 inch macbook pro????? Take my money!

If true it will be good to have a cheaper alternative that is close to the old 15.4" screen real estate, however we all know Apple, any possibility the low end specs could enter a price point of $1500, that is probably wishful thinking.

 

[ChromeCrescendo]

27" iMac Pro -- not 32"
Son, I am disappoint

 

[triton100]

For me, Touchbar get stuck and resets multiple times a day and I've mentioned this to Apple. Some got responses from Apple saying it is a software issue and they expect it to get better in future software updates. Some mentioned the issue got worse with Catalina.

I've asked about Touchbar at my company, only 1 out of 200+ mac users found the touch bar useful. Most would not miss anything if Apple brings back the function keys.

Apple hasn't done anything to improve Touch Bar experience in the last two years, they didn't even mention it much either.

Apple needs to get their crap together and either improve it or get rid of it. They failed with 3D touch and they're failing with touch bar as well.

Nope not a failure whatsoever. Having an instantly changing, contextually aware additional touch input device as part of your computer for industry professional creative software is great.
if your touch bar isn’t working you should get the computer replaced at your localApple store.

 

[LuciusWrong]

tired of this same old comment. The Touch Bar is Excellent and very useful for many. Buy a pc if it’s not useful for you.

Some people like buttons that dont turn off, change, move, etc. Some people like real tactile feedback when they press a "button". Like the old keyboards and track pads feel awesome now that i have the new 16" one with shorter travel keys and the "psych-click" track pad.

 

[wowee]

Apple has six mini-LED products in the works that are set to debut in 2020 and 2021, and production is not expected to be delayed by the coronavirus, according to a new note to investors sent out this morning by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple is developing a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2.-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch iPad mini. Kuo does not provide specific launch dates for the items with the exception of the iMac Pro, which he says will launch in the fourth quarter of 2020, and the 7.9-inch iPad mini, which he says will launch in 2020.Of particular interest in Kuo's note is the mention of the 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, as this is the first indication that we've had that Apple is planning a new size for its smaller MacBook Pro offering. The 14.1-inch MacBook Pro will be sold alongside a refreshed 16-inch MacBook Pro. The mention of an iMac Pro is also notable as Apple has not refreshed its iMac Pro since it launched in 2017.

According to Kuo, Apple's mini-LED products are expected to come out in 2020 and 2021, but in previous notes, Kuo has said we can expect to see the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a mini-LED display in the fourth quarter of 2020, so that could also be when the 14.1-inch version will launch.

Kuo has also said that the mini-LED version of 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is expected to be a high-end option, will launch in the fall of 2020. Current rumors indicate that this fall 12.9-inch model will come after a spring refresh of other iPad Pro models.

Article Link: Apple Working on Six Mini-LED Products Including New 14.1-Inch MacBook Pro and Refreshed iMac Pro

I HOPE this means a 13inch Macbook/air in a 12inch RMB form factor is in the works. Im still on the 2017 rmB 12inch and love this computer but could use a speed bump. Not interested in the heavier air or 13inch pro at the moment.


Also. Touchbar is completely useless gimmick. Id pay more to not have it. Apple, please Admit it is crap just like force touch, ditch it and move forward please.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I hope that burn-in is not an issue with these displays.

 

[SecuritySteve]

@MacRumors If there is a refresh for the iMac Pro, can we get the iMac Pro separated from the iMac forum? Thanks.

 

[OddyOh]

Hopefully the iMac Pro can do HDR this time.

 

[ccsicecoke]

No SD card slot No buy

 

[Coconut Bean]

Perhaps I'm out of the loop, but just what is the point of continuing the Touch Bar -- and if it is so important, so necessary to the "Apple experience," so popular, so easy to use, then why isn't it available on any of Apple's stand-alone keyboards? Why is it only on the laptops?

+$200 in margins.

 

[44267547]

You are thinking of microLED, that is supposedly going to be better over OLED.

MiniLED is just an improvement to the backlighting inside the regular LCD displays.

Yup, I definitely conflated the two. I’ll edit my post to reflect that. Thanks for pointing it out.