Taiwanese company Ennostar will begin production of Mini-LED backlight units for an upcoming 12.9-inch iPad Pro by the end of the first quarter or second quarter of this year, according to industry sources quoted by DigiTimes.
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Ennostar is a holding company that was jointly created in January 2021 by LED-related manufacturers Epistar and Lextar Electronics.
Apple is expected to unveil the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Mini-LED backlight in the first half of this year, with Epistar as the exclusive supplier of Mini-LED chips that Lextar will pack in backlight units, according to the report. . This deadline has been rumored several times, with some reports reducing the version to the first quarter, so it is possible that the new iPad Pro will be introduced in March.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also expected to include a faster A14X chip and support for 5G networks on models with cellular connectivity.
It’s unclear if Apple plans to introduce a new 11-inch iPad Pro at once, as many rumors have only mentioned the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. One possibility is that Mini-LED backlighting is limited to the 12.9-inch model, with the new key features of the 11-inch model limited to the A14X chip and 5G support, but it’s unclear.
Apple is likely to also adopt Mini-LED backlighting for the new MacBook models that will be introduced during the second half of this year, according to the report. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models to be launched during the second half of 2021 with a new design, the return of an HDMI port and an SD card reader , the removal of the Touch Bar, classic MagSafe Charge with a breakable power cord and more.