Report: New 12.9-inch iPad Air will not have the same high-end display as the iPad Pro

Macworld

Updated 4/24/24: Analyst Ross Young is now saying (on X for paid subscribers) that the new 12.9-inch iPad Air will have an LED screen, not a Mini LED display as he previously said last week. The original report is posted below.

We’re expecting Apple to unveil a new set of iPads during the first week of May. A new report on Thursday may provide a peek into what could be in store, and it says a lot about what the company is doing with its iPad lineup.

Analyst Ross Young posted on X (subscription required) that, “The upcoming 12.9″ iPad Air has a MiniLED display,” which is the same display technology used by the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Young states that Apple is using leftover supply from production of that Pro model since it is expected to upgrade the iPad Pro to OLED displays.

Implementing a Mini LED display would provide a power consumption savings over the current LED displays. Mini LEDs also produce better blacks, so the image quality on the iPad Air could see an improvement.

A 12.9-inch iPad Air has been rumored to be a new addition to the iPad lineup to complement the current 10.9-inch iPad Air. This creates a non-pro pairing that’s an alternative to the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. 

Young, however, doesn’t mention if the smaller Air will also upgrade from its current LED display to Mini LED. If the current iPad Pro setup is any indication–the 11-inch model has a standard LED, while the 12.9-inch model uses Mini LED–it’s possible Apple wouldn’t upgrade it. 

Also, no comment was made about how the Mini LED upgrade would affect the price. The current 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 128GB of storage starts at $1,099, while the iPad Air line is much cheaper with an entry-level price of $599. The rumored upgrade to OLED for this model could increase the price, which would leave room for the 12.9-inch iPad Air to come in at the $999 range. Apple could also lower the Air’s standard SSD configuration to 64GB (versus the iPad Pro’s 128GB) to lower the price a bit.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news by checking out our iPad Air and iPad Pro rumor roundups.

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