Kuo: Apple will release first MacBook Air with mini LED backlight in mid-2022

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will release the first 13.3-inch MacBook Air with mini-LED backlight sometime in the middle of 2022. According to the same source, it would become the second Apple laptop with the relatively new screen technology after the MacBook Pro.

Kuo has had a MacBook Air with a mini-LED screen on his radar for some time, but so far has not been able to name a concrete screen size or release date. Now he is reporting to investors that the next MacBook Air will have a screen just as large as the variant from 2020, MacRumors writes.

Rumors have also been circulating for some time about other MacBook laptops with mini LED technology. In total, Apple would be developing six mini-LED products, the usually well-informed analyst claimed in early 2020. Meanwhile, the brand has only released an iPad Pro with mini-LED backlight. A new MacBook Pro with mini LEDs is expected to hit the market later this year.

A backlight with mini LEDs has a number of advantages over a regular backlight. Although both techniques use LEDs to provide light to the LCD panel, the LEDs in mini LED backlights are, as the name suggests, much smaller. The mini LEDs behind the screen enable a full array local dimming backlight, with better black rendering.