Apple to Ship New 14-inch and 16-inch miniLED Backlit MacBook Pros in 2H21 [Report]

Apple is planning to ship new 14-inch and 16-inch miniLED backlit MacBook Pros in the second half of 2021, according to a DigiTimes report. Radiant Opto-Electronics is expected to supply backlight units for the displays.

Apple is expected to unveil 14- and 16-inch miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro models in second-half 2021, with Radiant to be the exclusive supplier of BLUs and Quanta Computer to be an OEM, the sources noted. Radiant expects shipments for BLUs used in tablets and notebooks in first-quarter 2021 to slip 10% and 15-20% respectively on quarter. Consequently, first-quarter 2021 consolidated revenues will decrease 15% sequentially but hike 60-70% on year. It has obtained orders with shipments scheduled until April 2021.

Sources say Radiant has not produced BLUs for smartphones following Apple's adoption of OLED for its iPhones. The company is expected to set aside a capex budget of NT$500 million to NT$1 billion (US$17.9-35.7 million) for 2021, mainly to purchase equipment needed in research and development of mini-LED backlighting.


Apple is widely expected to release a powerful redesigned 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon this year. The device will purportedly bring back MagSafe charging and more I/O, including an SD card reader.

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