iPad Pro Mini-LED is the upgrade I want the most

[EugW]

On my iPhone, LCD is fine. I have no complaints because I don’t watch much video on it, or for extended periods. Therefore, while I will get an OLED iPhone soon, the OLED screen hasn't been an uber important feature upgrade for me, and the lack of flickering on LCD is a bonus. That said, while my 7 Plus works just fine, I occasionally do notice some lag, so it would be good to get the new A14 with 6 GB RAM. However, the main reason I want an iPhone upgrade is for the new camera.

In contrast , the thing I dislike the most about my iPad Pro 10.5 is the black level / contrast. For older TV content it's usually fine, but for any modern show that has deep blacks, it looks bad. Night scenes are a pain to look at. Overall the screen is nicer than my wife's iPad 7's screen, but it's still not good enough IMHO.

There are many things I will want in the machine (some of which are already here), like 5G, 128 GB entry level storage, 6 GB RAM, quad speakers, Face ID, Magic Keyboard, etc., but the thing I pine for on a daily basis is better black levels. In fact, although I love the quad speakers, I'd take a hypothetical 10.8"/11" Air with mini-LED over an 11" Pro without, if I were forced to choose. Notebookcheck measured the black level of the iPad Pro 10.5 at 0.39 cd/m2 which I guess is OK for IPS LCD, but whatever the measurement, it just doesn't cut it for real world video content on a tablet in 2020 IMO.

I just hope that mini-LED as implemented by Apple with LG and friends is good, and I hope mini-LED comes to the 11" (or slightly larger?) Pro in a timely fashion, instead of coming initially just for the 12.9" Pro.

 

[AutomaticApple]

I hope mini-LED comes to the 11" (or slightly larger?) Pro in a timely fashion, instead of coming initially just for the 12.9" Pro.

I cant see why Apple would only give the 12.9" IPP mini-led.

 

[ericwn]

I cant see why Apple would only give the 12.9" IPP mini-led.

Same thoughts here. They need to elevate the entire niche that is the Pro line.

 

[EugW]

I cant see why Apple would only give the 12.9" IPP mini-led.

I agree, but all the rumours so far specifically only mention the 12.9” model. For some reason, the smaller Pro is never included as coming in the initial mini-LED wave.

 

[Kjs100]

I agree, but all the rumours so far specifically only mention the 12.9” model. For some reason, the smaller Pro is never included as coming in the initial mini-LED wave.

With rumours of an 11" iPad air I wonder if Apple will discontinue the 11" Pro. Some rumours suggested the Air would be Mini-led although Covid had supposedly delayed that.

Edit: Lovetodream suggested both iPad Pros are coming with Mini-led.

New iPad Pro with mini-LED display, 5G, and A14X may launch in early 2021

A new rumor suggests Apple's next iPad Pro upgrade with a mini-LED display, 5G, and an A14X processor, may arrive in early 2021.

www.idownloadblog.com

 

[xxray]

I agree. For shows and movies that have a lot of night scenes, I usually just end up watching them on my OLED iPhone screen, even though it’s way smaller. I rather deal with a smaller screen with pure blacks than a larger screen with such bad contrast.

I”m a little worried that mini-LED won’t do it for me though. If I understand correctly, mini-LED has contrast zones and doesn’t turn off individual pixels like OLED does, so I’m worried that the contrast still won’t be good enough. OLED has ruined other screens for me.

 

[Traverse]

With rumours of an 11" iPad air I wonder if Apple will discontinue the 11" Pro. Some rumours suggested the Air would be Mini-led although Covid had supposedly delayed that.

Edit: Lovetodream suggested both iPad Pros are coming with Mini-led.

New iPad Pro with mini-LED display, 5G, and A14X may launch in early 2021

A new rumor suggests Apple's next iPad Pro upgrade with a mini-LED display, 5G, and an A14X processor, may arrive in early 2021.

www.idownloadblog.com

I would be very surprised by this. I would honestly be shocked if the 11" iPad Pro wasn't the better seller by a considerable margin for various reasons. Even if the new iPad Air and iPad Pro are more similar than dissimilar, I don't see Apple forgoing the opportunity to charge the heightened price for the Pro in that size range.

 

[lakerchick4life]

I would be very surprised by this. I would honestly be shocked if the 11" iPad Pro wasn't the better seller by a considerable margin for various reasons. Even if the new iPad Air and iPad Pro are more similar than dissimilar, I don't see Apple forgoing the opportunity to charge the heightened price for the Pro in that size range.

Saw this on twitter dont know what to make of it or if its reliable:


Komiya

@komiya_kj

Apple Special Events September 8 (online) iPhones,Apple Watch,AirPower,iPad October 27 iPad Pro, Apple Silicon Macs (MacBook,MacBook Pro13”),(unless online Apple Glass)


So October 27th a new mini LED iPad Pro will be coming out? The Apple Lab leaker tweeted me and said March 25th so confusing whose telling the truth?

 

[Traverse]

Saw this on twitter dont know what to make of it or if its reliable:


Komiya
@komiya_kj

Apple Special Events September 8 (online) iPhones,Apple Watch,AirPower,iPad October 27 iPad Pro, Apple Silicon Macs (MacBook,MacBook Pro13”),(unless online Apple Glass)


So October 27th a new mini LED iPad Pro will be coming out? The Apple Lab leaker tweeted me and said March 25th so confusing whose telling the truth?

Given that the 2020 refresh was essentially unchanged aside from the LiDar sensor, I don’t think Apple will be doing another 18 month cycle, but I feel that March to October is a bit too soon. I’d bet on March 2021.

 

[EugW]

Given that the 2020 refresh was essentially unchanged aside from the LiDar sensor, I don’t think Apple will be doing another 18 month cycle, but I feel that March to October is a bit too soon. I’d bet on March 2021.

Apple analyst Kuo Ming-Chi is claiming mass production of mini-LED for Apple begins Q1 2021.

Kuo: Apple's Mini-LED Product Roadmap May Have Been Pushed Back to 2021

Apple's development of mini-LED display based hardware has not been significantly affected by the global health crisis but it may have delayed...

www.macrumors.com

 

[radiologyman]

I”m a little worried that mini-LED won’t do it for me though. If I understand correctly, mini-LED has contrast zones and doesn’t turn off individual pixels like OLED does, so I’m worried that the contrast still won’t be good enough. OLED has ruined other screens for me.

I had OLED tvs for over 6 years and got Iphone X because it was the first Iphone with OLED. I got first OLED 13 inch windows ultraportable only because of it's screen, soon after it was released... Absolute blacks with crazy contrast ratio and full color gamut... There is no going back to LCD for me and unfortunately mini-LED may not cut it even though I miss MacOS. Thinking of upgrading my workstation pro monitors to OLED when suitable monitors hit the market. Hopefully micro-LEDs are coming but I already got next best thing.

 

[ericwn]

I agree. For shows and movies that have a lot of night scenes, I usually just end up watching them on my OLED iPhone screen, even though it’s way smaller. I rather deal with a smaller screen with pure blacks than a larger screen with such bad contrast.

I”m a little worried that mini-LED won’t do it for me though. If I understand correctly, mini-LED has contrast zones and doesn’t turn off individual pixels like OLED does, so I’m worried that the contrast still won’t be good enough. OLED has ruined other screens for me.

I’m sure Apple is not interested in a content consumption display tech on a content creation type of device. Too strong contrasts make image editing a pain. Better blacks, more colour space maybe, but nothing that is on the level of an OLED tv.

 

[lakerchick4life]

Given that the 2020 refresh was essentially unchanged aside from the LiDar sensor, I don’t think Apple will be doing another 18 month cycle, but I feel that March to October is a bit too soon. I’d bet on March 2021.

I would think March 2021 but those two "Leakers" are pretty addiment about October 27th "Ipad Pro" no clue which ipad pro they are talking about and what will happen..if they do release the mini led one this october I will upgrade mine for sure..same goes for my 13 inch macbook pro 2018 model Id update that if they upgrade the 13 inch too

 

[Wackery]

I use the ipad at night, and mini-led or oled are the only reasons I would update

 

[Ungibbed]

OK, just a bit confused here about which is the better display tech? The only OLED devices I’ve had over the years has mostly been Samsung phones and my trusty PS Vita.

The question I have is which is the better display technology? I love the ProMotion display on my iPP but has there been any improvement on the black levels in current iPad haven’t much improved.

I like the idea of a better display but haven’t had any experience with any modem OLED display or Mini LED.

Is there any Mini LED displays currently on the market to compare with OLED?

Will be buying a next generation IPad when/if my second generation 12.9 dies.

 

[konqerror]

OK, just a bit confused here about which is the better display tech?

The fundamental problem for this application is OLED is too expensive. There may be secondary concerns about OLED lifetime in an always-on kiosk type application. Otherwise OLED is better for display quality.

 

[radiologyman]

The fundamental problem for this application is OLED is too expensive. There may be secondary concerns about OLED lifetime in an always-on kiosk type application. Otherwise OLED is better for display quality.

Micro-LED may beat OLED some day if they will figure out how to stuff LEDs as small as single pixel in a mass produced screen. Mini-LED on the contrary is coming soon but it using multiple back lights and dimming zones a lot larger then a pixel. Mini-LED remains an LCD, with light bleeding issues mitigated but not resolved by focal dimming.

 

[EugW]

I use the ipad at night, and mini-led or oled are the only reasons I would update

Hear, hear!

So, as expected, the iPad Air 4 did not get mini-LED. The countdown is on for an 11" mini-LED iPad Pro! Another 6 months? (I'm assuming that Apple hasn't discontinued the 11" Pro.) Actually, I haven't been that anxious to get a new iPad Pro since I'm working from home most of the time anyway, due to COVID-19, so I have no problems waiting. My 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" will suffice for the time being. Performance with A10X and 4 GB RAM is still very good. No white spot yet either.

BTW, now that the Air is 10.9", maybe Apple will go bigger with the next iPad Pros? I'd love to see an 11.5" to 12" iPad Pro 2021, with the larger Pro going to about 13.5" to 14". That hypothetical 11.5" - 12" iPad Pro would be perfect for me. And of course, they will have 5G cellular.

 

[EugW]

With rumours of an 11" iPad air I wonder if Apple will discontinue the 11" Pro. Some rumours suggested the Air would be Mini-led although Covid had supposedly delayed that.

Edit: Lovetodream suggested both iPad Pros are coming with Mini-led.

New iPad Pro with mini-LED display, 5G, and A14X may launch in early 2021

A new rumor suggests Apple's next iPad Pro upgrade with a mini-LED display, 5G, and an A14X processor, may arrive in early 2021.

www.idownloadblog.com

Here are the direct links to those tweets from June:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1268158465509216256

https://twitter.com/x/status/1268157439754432512

And the MacRumors article based on those tweets:

iPad Pro With A14X Chip, 5G, and Mini-LED Display Expected in First Half of 2021

Apple plans to launch new iPad Pro models with an A14X chip, 5G connectivity, and a Mini-LED display in the first or second quarter of 2021,...

www.macrumors.com