Mini-LED: What it Means for Apple and MacBooks and iPads

[69Mustang]

You people think the camera is bad now? Cause it’ll get quite a bit worse with such a thing bezel.

How so? Dell definitely isn't ahead of Apple regarding technical achievement in camera tech. If Dell can fit a 720p potato cam into their bezel (that's what is in the new XPS 13 & 15), there's absolutely no reason to think Apple couldn't do the same. With Apple expertise, they should at least have 1080p webcams in their Macs. Heck if MS can do it...

 

[Moonjumper]

I always find it amusing that articles (such as this) always tout the mantra that OLED screens are superior to LCD screens and never mention the Godzilla in the room aka PWM.

OLED isn't better for everyone. For some it's a disaster

There are both OLED and LCD screens with PWM, and both without. The issue is noted because Apple commonly have OLED screens with, and LCD without. Making it worse is I believe Apple using PenTile technology in the X and XS iPhones (not sure about 11), which shares some sub-pixels across pixels.

 

[Stenik]

You people think the camera is bad now? Cause it’ll get quite a bit worse with such a thing bezel.

How does Dell do it then?
I am hoping for at least 1080p camera

 

[Hieveryone]

I’m here for it! Dream computer would be OLED but mini LED sounds great.

I have a 15” 2019 base model I’d still upgrade if they came came out with a laptop with a better screen

 

[mistasopz]

Apple uses OLED displays in its iPhones, but OLED is also a technology that has so far proven to be too expensive to be used for the larger displays of Macs and iPads.

For a company that charges $1000 for a monitor stand and $700 for a wheel on a case, OLED for larger displays must be REALLY expensive then.

 

[ksec]

I am in the minority, but I would rather like an iPhone with mini LED.

And I dont want the Macbook or iPhone to have zero bezel or super thin bezel. The current bezels are fine as they are. ( Except the iMac )

 

[simonmet]

Well, typically you don't have phones on all day long.

Better not see my iPhone’s screen time stats. It’s far greater than my MacBook!

 

[57004]

OLED is superior to mini-LED technology because it produces more even lighting with no pixel groups involved, but micro-LED is believed to be superior to OLED because it can offer higher levels of brightness and there are no issues that can lead to screen burn in or drops in brightness over time.

This isn't exactly true. Regular LEDs still suffer from reduced brightness over time. And in a micro-LED display that can lead to some form of "burn in", just on a more coarse scale, and it won't affect individual colours. It just takes significantly longer than with OLED displays. It's still possible to see a visible reduction over the lifetime of a laptop screen though. It's just in current laptops all LEDs are driven at the same brightness all the time (no dimming zones), so there is no visible brightness difference between them as they age. With micro-LED this will change. It will still be much better than OLED in this regard but the effect is there a bit.

Personally I'm not sure if it's worth the tradeoff though. I love my amazing OLED displays and I have yet to see any burn in on any of them (and I have a Tab S that's 6 years old and I use a lot with high brightness movie watching and black bars - still the black bars are not visible). Neither do I see it on my S8 phone. I think it will happen with very static display content but there's mitigation techniques for that.

 

[xxray]

I just wish Apple was going straight to OLED for the iPad, rather than mini-LED. Samsung tablets have had OLED for years and at lower price points, so I don't know why Apple can't do it. There shouldn't be any more risk for burn-in than it is for the iPhone.

 

[Chargr]

I expect those thick MBP bezels to shrink.

View attachment 915442

Beautiful laptops. Sold my XPS 13 for the new macbook pro. I Just had to come back to the apple eco system.

The light small form factor and 4K screen was amazing tho

 

[Bubble99]

For a company that charges $1000 for a monitor stand and $700 for a wheel on a case, OLED for larger displays must be REALLY expensive then.

I have yet to see TV or monitor under $2,000 that use OLED

 

[Steve686]

I gotta be in some extreme minority group that loves the screen on my 16"MBP and really don't care if the blacks are deeper?

I shoot video and pictures with a Sony a7iii. I edit those from the MBP to a Viewsonic color calibrated 32" monitor so a laptop with a "better" screen is nice, but totally unnecessary in my workflow.

Sure, some people will be ecstatic, but then once the damn things are released to the public, there will be a plethora of posts here bitching and moaning about some aspect of these new displays.

Never fails.

 

[EugW]

I have yet to see TV or monitor under $2,000 that use OLED

You’re not looking hard enough. In the US you can buy 65” LG OLED TVs under US$2000 from time to time, and 55” LG OLED TVs under US$2000 pretty much anytime.

Hell, even here in Canada you will get the 55” models most of the time for under CAD$2000 (US$1417) despite our crappy exchange rate.

I have a 65” 2018 OLED but what I’m waiting for now is for the 77” models to become more affordable. Below CAD$4000 (US$2835) and I’m buying.

 

[Brien]

I expect those thick MBP bezels to shrink.

View attachment 915442

Why Apple won’t do this is beyond me...

 

[CrazyForCashews]

Looking forward to the redesigned MacBook Pro with a mini-led screen.

 

[fokmik]

We know the micro-led it will be the next big thing in every display for the next decades
It has all the advantages of lcd and oled without any disadvantages, no burn in , blue pixel don’t fade away after long time, no image retention

 

[washburn]

We know the micro-led it will be the next big thing in every display for the next decades
It has all the advantages of lcd and oled without any disadvantages, no burn in , blue pixel don’t fade away after long time, no image retention

how are they going to transition from OLED to microLED in the near future?

Samsung has recently killed off LCD production to fully focus on OLED, it took billions on R&D and factory setups, how long is OLED going to be manufactured? Can they just make microLED displays using current OLED factories?

I see microLED at least 10+ years away or more to getting where OLED is today, and OLED only recently started to replace LCD

this means nearly all phones, tablets will be based on OLED, except Apple will find a way to keep miniLED backlit LCD for long time to come

 

[Tech198]

"Mini-LEDs, as the name suggests, are smaller diodes that are less than 0.2mm."

this should be intresting for iFix-It.. They may have finally have a challenge ..

 

[miniyou64]

Only the gluten-free models will have zero PWM.

Is this supposed to be some kind of burn towards people affected by PWM?

 

[Jury]

I expect those thick MBP bezels to shrink

Agreed, Apple need to shrink the top bezel on MBP not the side bezel.

 

[TechRunner]

Once I saw the phrase "thinner and lighter" in the article, I was on board with the upcoming changes

Seriously, a 14.1" MBP was noted as one item to possibly get the new screen tech, so I continue to hope that this size is going to become a reality so I can move on from my 2015 MBA.

 

[PostApple2016BrainWash]

People expect the new entry 14” Macbook Pro starts at $1299 ?? and user-replaceable storage ??

 

[Laura Vavreges]

I gave up waiting on a mini-LED backlit iPad Pro. I was keen on watching my Dolby Vision movies on something bigger than my iPhone 11 Pro Max....so I instead bought a 55” OLED that barely fits in my room. First world problems!

 

[Chompineer]

Anyone have a link to that wallpaper?

 

[jacg]

How come my giant (208) LG 55” TV is OLED and shows great contrast, and current macs and iPads do not?