LED display changes for next-gen iPad tablets

There was much talk of the LED technology that would be integrated into the third generation iPad prior to its launch in the spring of 2012.

This was largely due to the fact that Apple would be including more LED backlighting, in order to accommodate the increased resolution of the new Retina Display that the tablet touted.

Some were concerned about how this would impact battery life, as well as the physical size of the device. Indeed, Apple was criticised for making the iPad 3 a little thicker and heavier than its predecessor, which seemed like a step in the wrong direction.

The iPad 4 arrived a little over half a year later, alongside the iPad Mini, both of which feature LED displays, although the latter did not get the Retina treatment.

Next year, the fifth generation iPad will in fact use yet another revised LED display, this time with just a single strip of lights mounted behind the high res LCD panel, according to Digitimes.

This should ideally lower power consumption, although whether or not it will have an impact on the brightness of the screen remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, a second generation iPad Mini is also, allegedly, in the works, complete with a Retina Display that will give it a resolution of 2058×1536.

This would help to give Apple the edge over its rivals at the seven inch market segment, because both the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 are able to outpace the current iPad Mini, when it comes to pixel density.

It will be interesting to see if the smaller tablets ever get organic LED (OLED) displays, because Samsung is pushing the envelope in this respect, with its 5.5 inch smartphone tablet hybrid the Galaxy Note 2.