Hopefully the iPad PPI will increase from the current 264. I find it strange that the non pro and pro iPads have the same PPI. iPad mini has 326. The Pros should have 400 ish PPI.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Kuo: High-End iPad and MacBook With Mini-LED Displays to Launch Between Late 2020 and Mid 2021
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Mini-LED costs more than the classic LED back lighting. Since larger screens have also traditionally cost more it is easier to hide the cost increase there. ( Or at least charge more and still have enough paying customers even if cost isn't so hidden. Higher cost monitors just stay higher cost and get 'better' with the mini-LED).
I suspect there is another substantive problem as crank the number of mini-LEDs up though. Keeping the light in each zone separated in smaller screens will be harder than larger screens with mini-LEDS used at a lower density. Larger screens at lower density were easier to do for the first general "mass produced" generation. Only moving to smaller screens and higher mini-LED density once worked out at least some of the mass production scale issues.
In 2-3 years Retina screens should be cheaper to make. Apple likes the higher price point so will need a "better" screen at the current ( or incrementally higher) price point to keep the overall system price the same.
Better color , contrast, range is more useful than just simply cranking up the PPI just because you can. The colors can be seen, the pixels not so much ( at normal viewing distances ).
The mini cranks up PPI mainly to keep the pixel resolution the same as the other iPads at the time. Pixel dimension uniformity across iPads to make it easier on developers. Not really a big leaps in user eye resolution.
There is no denying that OLED is significantly cheaper, brighter, better for a mobile device and also save battery life for preventing it from decay.
Last edited:
Just so there is no misunderstanding-
Mini-LED is not Micro-LED. Like OLED, Micro-LED is self-emmissive, but Mini-LED is not.
Mini-LED is simply smaller LED, i.e. LCD-LED, where LEDs illuminate the LCD panel from behind.
For those who follow the display industry, this is known as "FALD" or Full Array Local Dimming, which uses zones of LED clusters to improve contrast but does not illiminate the inherent difficiencies of LCD-LED displays such as poor contrast, blooming, backlight bleed, and motion blur. FALD is currently done with regular-sized LEDs, but due to their size it tops out around 1,200 LEDs per zone. Mini-LEDs allow for much higher numbers, but it is still the same overall technology with the same drawbacks. It will not come close to matching the excellent contrast, picture quality, and motion handling of OLED, since OLED functions differently than LED.
Only Micro-LED will challenge OLED, but that is still years away.
Last edited:
Contrast is the biggest thing that needs improvement, especially black levels. Aside from that, a wider color space and better viewing angles.
And if you're not fussy about color, that's great. If you are, like myself, then you weigh what's most important.
Well said. That's lost on so many people thinking PPI is the end-all be-all spec for assessing displays.
I’m a bit confused about the timing of the miniLED on MacBook Pro in particular. If we have a, as far as I can tell, new 16-inch MacBook Pro inbound before year end... then another display technology added to what I’m assuming is the same form factor as the 16-inch... how does that make sense?
Potential redesign this year and then keep the same form factor but update the display in 2021?
Potential redesign this year and then keep the same form factor but update the display in 2021?
Most people find OLED is superior in many circumstances and unlikely to experience severe colors problem.
Last edited:
There actually were a few plasma screen laptops from Toshiba, GRiD and maybe others many years ago (1980s and early 1990s)- mostly orange monochrome screens, maybe one color model showed up at the end? The only reference to a color version I can find right now turns out to be a color LCD available as an option on a machine that otherwise has an orange plasma display.
Many of the plasma laptops didn't run on batteries at all, although at least a few did (for a little while).
Many of the plasma laptops didn't run on batteries at all, although at least a few did (for a little while).
That's great for "most people." For me the shift is not, and am glad Apple is pursuing better display technologies.
This blue shift problem only seems to be a thing with Samsung's AMOLED screens. AFAIK, LG's OLEDs do not exhibit this, or not to the same degree anyway. So I wouldn't characterize it as a deficiency of the technology, but rather the manufacturing process.
Just report your own posts, ask the mods to delete your posts, I sometimes do.
Why invest in MiniLed display fabrics/machinery when a far better new technology is around the corner, I guess the answer is to get more money from the end user/consumer.
That's a shame. My next watch/phone/tablet/laptop/desktop/TV/camera/lens purchase/upgrade/repair/replacement is likely to be an MBP.
Oh yeah, we totally need and want more "thinner and lighter"
Because that makes everything better.
(Back in reality, previously thin and light macbook struggles to cool itself while streaming video...)
Because that makes everything better.
(Back in reality, previously thin and light macbook struggles to cool itself while streaming video...)
It still needs some improvements for the product lineup like all-week battery life.
Do you know that PWM stands for "pulse width modulation". This is how all solid state devices control the magic pixies.
The alternative is a transformer, which is a bit big and heavy. You dont want an iphone that uses transformers....
Huh...
OLEDS do not dim over time, you iPhone X is just dimmer from new compared to the newer iPhones.
OLED Tv's also do not get dimmer, the only problem with OLED Tv's is burnin, actually all OLED displays.
You really do not want OLED on a MacBook with static content, burnin will be visible fairly soon, there's a reason there are no MacBook or any other Apple computer with an OLED display, except the iPhone which is actually also a computer.
Last edited:
I was going to say the same thing. Among the many bits of miss information about OLED floating around, the idea that all OLED screens are the same as perhaps the most pervasive. It is true that right now Samsung has a strong corner on medium sized displays but that could change if Japan Display finally ramps up under its new ownership.
i’m not sure if LG’s RGBW OLED tech is efficient enough for portable devices but I’d love a screen like that on my iPad Pro. 120hz, deep contrast, comparable brightness, and excellent viewing angles. Burn-in is largely overstated and iOS already accounts for it.
The customer mostly prefer thinner and lighter product so it makes sense for further reduction in overall size as long as it won't break the typical functionality of the device or have substitute for removing a feature.
The tube in a (*former) LCD display is a (High Voltage) CCFL, don't think it's PWM, could be wrong though.
*Nowadays most backlighting is LED.
