Apple is continuing to expand its supply chain of miniLED panels to increase production of MacBook Pro displays, one analyst said. Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro both use mini LEDs for the display’s backlighting, a technology that first appeared on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. With the success of the display on these models, Apple hopes to increase production to make more use of the technology.
According to TF Securities analyst Kuo on Twitter, Apple is “aggressively expanding supply chain capacity for mini LED panels for the MacBook Pro.” Saturday’s tweet also said that Apple is doing so even as the PC and notebook market as a whole struggle with inflation and Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine. As for how much of an effect Apple wants to see, Kuo said it estimates a 20% to 30% increase in supply.
Adding capacity provides Apple with a number of benefits, including lower cost per panel due to economies of scale. The ramp-up could also be seen as a sign that Apple believes high demand for its high-end notebooks is coming.
The tweet came on the heels of another late Sunday in which the analyst argued that “I think the gap between miniLED MacBook Pro and OLED notebook shipments may widen in 2022-2023.” Although inflation is an issue, Apple is believed to be able to outperform its rivals “thanks to brand value”.
The comments were in response to a March 21 report from analyst firm DSCC in which Apple’s latest two MacBook Pros enjoyed considerable dominance in the premium notebook market after launch. In DSCC’s data, mini-LED MacBook Pro models outsold all OLED notebooks in Q4 2021.