Kuo: OLED iPad Air and mini-LED MacBook Air inbound for 2022

While tipster Jon Prosser might have egg on his face following his March 23 Apple Event prediction fail, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo remains one of the more reliable Apple tipsters out there. Kuo has been especially active the past few weeks and much of the news centers around the display technology that Apple will adopt for its iPads and Macs over the next 12 to 18 months. The buzz is centering around Apple’s adoption of mini-LED technology for its MacBooks and iPad Pro models, and OLED displays reaching other parts of its lineup. 

The redesigned iPad Air is already a tempting value proposition when placed next to the current iPad Pro models, but it is expected to be the first iPad to pick up an OLED display. Apparently Apple has been able to secure OLED panels at a price point that is relatively competitive with the IPS LCD panels it currently uses. OLED should help to produce much better contrast and help colors pop more than they do on the 2020 iPad Air, but customers will have to wait until the second half of 2022 for the upgrade.

The MacBook Air is also in for a display upgrade next year and will switch to the same mini-LED display technology Kuo expects to see arrive on Apple’s redesigned MacBook Pro models arriving later this year. Although still using LCD tech, mini-LEDs deliver an OLED-like experience through the application of sophisticated local area dimming. Kuo also expects to see mini-LED displays make an appearance Apple’s next-gen iPad Pro models expected to appear as soon as next month. This tech will remain exclusive to the Pro models in Apple’s iPad lineup for the time being.

Buy the iPad Air (2020) from Amazon and save US$40 on the regular price.