Osram Opto Semiconductors reportedly will become a new supplier of miniLED for backlighting Apple's new MacBook Pro lineup slated for launch in the second half of 2021, according to industry sources.
Osram Opto will start shipping its miniLED backlighting applications for the new MacBook Pro in second-half 2021, said the sources, adding the current miniLED supplier, Taiwan-based Ennostar, will not be able to fully satisfy Apple's needs.
Osram Opto rolls out LED products from its production site in Malaysia. The company has said its operations in Malaysia remain normal despite a spike of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Apple plans to release two miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro products - a 14-inch and a 16-inch - in the second half of 2021, noted the sources.
Ennostar, reportedly being the sole supplier of miniLED backlighting applications for Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, has started ramping up its miniLED production in the second quarter, with related production lines to reach full capacity in the third quarter, the sources said.
Epistar under Ennostar can roll out one million 4-inch equivalents LED epitaxial wafers a year to support the production of 10 million miniLED panels, indicated the sources.
However, some industry observers pointed out that the volume production of the 12.9-inch miniLED-backlit iPad Pro actually started one quarter later than its original schedule due to issues with miniLED supply from Ennostar.
Shipments of 12.9-inch miniLED-backlit iPad Pro from Apple's production partners are likely to reach about 5-6 million units in 2021, estimated the observers.
Judging from the supply of miniLED backlighting applications, volume production of the 14-inch MacBook Pro is likely to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the 16-inch model will start in the first quarter of 2022, said the sources.
