Apple gave the 12.9-inch iPad Pro a Mini LED screen this year, and now the next 11-inch model is set to follow in 2022. That's according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via AppleInsider).
Apple released new versions of both sizes of tablets this year, but only the bigger one has the new premium screen (though they both utilise Apple's own M1 processors). Mini LED displays have more local dimming zones than traditional screen tech – and the more dimming zones a display has, the more exact and precise it can be in terms of contrast, producing deep blacks next to bright highlights.
In our Apple iPad Pro 12.9in review, we essentially called it "an OLED or QLED TV that you could fit in a backpack". We added: "the new mini LED-lit display is the real game-changer as far as we're concerned."
Apple doesn't refer to the tech as Mini LED. Instead, it markets it as Liquid Retina XDR, just to make things more confusing.
According to Kuo, Apple will also use Mini LED technology in its next MacBook Pro and Air laptops, but sadly there's no more specific date on when any of these devices will launch.
A lack of Mini LED display production led to supply shortages of the bigger iPad Pro this year. Even now, three months after the tablet was announced, lead times are around a month on Apple's site. Let's hope these shortages are a distant memory by the time the next smaller iPad Pro is revealed.
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