12.9-Inch iPad Pro With Mini-LED Display May Be Delayed Until Early 2021

A high-end iPad Pro might be getting pushed back to early 2021 due to design changes.

It has been rumored for quite some time that Apple is planning on transitioning to different display technology for future products, which could see the light of day before the end of 2020. But one of those rumored devices might not make the unofficial deadline.

A new high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Mini-LED display may be delayed until early 2021 due to the device’s “complex panel design,” wrote analyst Jeff Pu said in an investor note with Chinese research firm GF Securities (via MacRumors).

It certainly seems possible that, with a change in design, Apple’s initial plans (whatever they might be) could be forced to change. Especially when we consider the fact that the globe is currently facing a pandemic, which has shut down businesses and manufacturers for weeks. Launching a redesigned product during all of this might prove to be a tad difficult.

Apple refreshed its iPad Pro lineup earlier last month, nearly 18 months after it had released the 2018 iPad Pro. The updates in the 2020 iPad Pro lineup are minor, with the highlight being the new LiDAR scanner and the addition of a new 10MP ultra-wide angle camera at the rear. They ship with the A12Z Bionic chip which offers the same level of CPU performance as the A12X Bionic found inside the 2018 iPad Pro and just a slight uptick in GPU performance.

Alongside this update, Pu also reportedly stated that Apple is planning to release four new iPhones in the fall in a staggered launch. Three new iPhones in September, and a fourth in October. This seems highly unorthodox and not in keeping with previous Apple practice.