Right here, rightchuuuurrr is where we gave you a ‘First Look‘ at the next-gen iPad mini that appears to have a significant redesign reminiscent of the beloved iPad Air with its squared-off edges, slimmer bezels, a Touch ID power button instead of a home button, and a USB-C port instead of a lightning connector.
Today, in a new paywalled DigiTimes report accessed by MacRumors, they corroborate our leak of Touch ID in the power button and USB-C port instead of lightning connector.
According to DigiTimes today, the sixth-generation iPad mini will also feature a mini-LED display:
“BLU maker Radiant to kick off shipments for Apple mini-LED backlit devices in 3Q21
Radiant Optoelectronics will kick off shipments of its backlight units for the upcoming mini LED-backlit MacBook Pro and iPad mini later in the third quarter, with the shipments to expand in volume in the fourth quarter, according to industry sources.“
– DigiTimes paywalled report via MacRumors
Although it’s not OLED, mini-LED is still a step up compared to traditional LCDs and offers a wide array of benefits like higher contrast ratio, deeper blacks, higher brightness, less prone to burn-in than OLED, more power efficient, and uses inorganic Gallium nitride (GaN) for less degradation over time, compared to OLED.
Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that an iPad mini with a mini-LED display was in the works, but he incorrectly predicted it would launch in 2020 and that it would be a 7.9-inch model. Clearly, a prediction that failed to materialize. At least he wasn’t dumb enough to bet his eyebrows over the leak. I digress.
Bloomberg also previously reported that the new iPad mini would be announced later this year, with mini-LED display-related component shipments kicking off in the third quarter of the year, lending credence to the DigiTimes timeframe.
According to MacRumors, “the full report should be published by tomorrow with further details.” Stay tuned.
