Kuo: Apple will release the 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 mid-2022. According to the same source, this would make it the second Apple laptop with the relatively new screen technology after the MacBook Pro.

Kuo has had a MacBook Air with miniLED 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 reports to investors that the next MacBook Air will have the same screen size as the 2020 variant, writes MacRumors.

Rumors have also been circulating for some time about other MacBook laptops with miniLED technology. In total, Apple would be developing six miniLED products, the usually well-informed analyst claimed in early 2020. In the meantime, the brand has only released an iPad Pro with miniLED backlight. A new MacBook Pro with mini LEDs should be available 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 reproduction.