DigiTimes: 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Mini-LED Display No longer expected to be shipped until at least April

Apple will not launch a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display until at least the second quarter of the year, which begins on April 1, according to industry sources quoted by DigiTimes.

From today’s report:

Epistar has become the exclusive supplier of miniLED chips to be used in the 12.9-inch PiPad Pro‌ with miniLED backlit lighting, with almost 50% of the corresponding production capacity reserved for tablet and volume deliveries that will start in the second quarter of 2021, sources said.

Last week, DigiTimes reported that the new 12.9-inch .9iPad Pro‌ could be released in late March or early second quarter. The publication is changing now, explicitly stating that mass deliveries for the new iPad will begin in the second quarter. At the same time, last week, there was growing speculation that Apple will hold an event on Tuesday, March 23.

It seems that event, still to be confirmed, would include the launch of AirTags, AirPods 3 and the new ‌iPad Pro‌ models. If DigiTimes it is believed, however, that the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display will not be released until at least April.

Apple has several products in progress with mini-LED displays. Compared to regular LCDs, mini-LEDs offer higher brightness, improved contrast ratio and are expected to become the new standard among future Apple products, including a 14-inch MacBook Pro.