Last week a report from a usually reliable source told us Apple was planning on using leftover Mini LED displays from its current-gen 12.9″ iPad Pro for the upcoming 12.9″ iPad Air. That would have been a very noticeable bump in display quality compared to the existing iPad Air model, but the excitement turns out to have been unwarranted.
The very same Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants today shatters our dreams by saying the 12.9″ iPad Air will not in fact use Mini LED panels, and instead will just have a plain old IPS LCD like the current iPad Air (pictured below).
This move has allegedly been done because of the high cost of the Mini LED screens, though if they’re leftovers supposed to be made for the current-gen iPad Pro, then that shouldn’t matter, since using them is better than scrapping them, we’d assume.
On that note, Young says a new iPad model with – you guessed it – a 12.9-inch Mini LED panel will be introduced at some point between October and December. He’s unsure what this will be called, or where it will fit in Apple’s lineup – it could either be a higher-end iPad Air or a lower-end iPad Pro, or something else entirely. Only time will tell.
For now, color us disappointed to see that the iPad Air line isn’t in fact getting better display tech. The new iPad Air and iPad Pro models are expected to become official at Apple’s just-announced event taking place on May 7.
