New iPad Pros rumoured to start shipping in Q4 2020 with a mini LED screen and an A14X Bionic chipset

2020 is a strange year for Apple hardware releases. Not only did the company release iterative iPad Pro upgrades, but it also unveiled its new A14 Bionic chipset in the fourth-generation iPad Air rather than in an iPhone, as has been customary. Now, Ming-Chi Kuo alleges that Apple will unveil more iPad Pros before the year is out.

According to Kuo, this upgraded iPad Pro will feature mini LED panels, which would be the first of Apple's hardware stack to do so. Availability is limited to around 300,000-400,000 panels in Q4 2020, which may mean that only the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will receive a mini LED upgrade for the timing being.

MSI has already shown the potential of mini LED screens with the Creator 17 A10SGS, which we reviewed in July. Mini LED panels have more dimming zones than conventional displays, while the panel in the Creator 17 achieved an average peak luminosity of 952 cd/m² in our tests with a brightness distribution of 93%.

The first mini LED may debut with the A14X Bionic too, according to @komiyaappleseed. A 5G iPad Pro is supposedly also in the works, but it is unclear whether this will arrive before 2021. As for the mini LED refresh of the iPad Pro, apparently this will debut next month at the launch of the iPhone 12 series.