Apple Budgets $200 Million in Efforts to Improve Upcoming 14" and 16" MacBook Pro's Mini-LED Production

Urian B., Tech Times 01 July 2021, 05:07 am

Apple is rolling out a budget of $200 million in efforts to help improve the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro's mini-LED production. The $200 million investment is said to help the company purchase new equipment needed for four different brand new mini-LED assembly lines.

Apple SMT Capacity

This information reportedly came from a paywalled report coming from DigiTimes and was reportedly seen by MacRumors.

The report noted that Apple is going to spend a whopping $200 million to procure some additional surface mounting-technology equipment, or SMTs, in order to help create four different brand new assembly lines.

These new assembly lines will reportedly be dedicated specifically to the mini-LED production for the company's upcoming line of MacBook Pros.

Apple hopes that the investment and the purchase will be able to provide another additional monthly SMT capacity capable of making 700,000 up to 800,000 mini-LED MacBook Pro devices.

Apple and TSMT

The particular equipment that Apple is now set to purchase will directly go to the company's main mini-LED module supplier known as TSMT or the Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology.

The report noted that the equipment is going to be installed at the official TSMT plant in China, and citing a particular source, the report also said that the TSMT has already confirmed that it will be enforcing capacity at its own plant in Dongguan, located in southern China.

DigiTimes reportedly showed a preview of a now published report that indicates that the company is still pretty much struggling to keep up with the overwhelming mini-LED display demands for the standard 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which was announced back in April, and even expected demand for its upcoming MacBook Pros.

Apple is still reportedly looking for additional mini-LED SMT suppliers. This would include the existing supplier Radiant Opto-Electronics.

SMT Process: Mini-LED for MacBook Pros

The market is at a shift where demand for electronics is extremely high and tech companies, even the massive ones like Apple, are still looking for ways to expand their production even more. With the new SMT suppliers, Apple will be able to significantly increase the production of their new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.

A post by PatentlyApple confirmed the struggle Apple is experiencing when it comes to the SMT process. The post also explained that mini-LEDs are being transferred on the surface of the device's surface board during the whole SMT process. It is then used as a backlighting for the LCD or liquid crystal display.

With SMT technology being very in demand, especially with the newer Apple products, it is only logical for the company to want to ramp up their capabilities. As of the moment, it remains to be seen when the $200 million budget will be rolled out for SMT expansion.

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Written by Urian B.