iPad 5 getting thinner screen thanks to slim LED backlight

With the iPad 5, we’re expecting Apple to completely change the design of the existing iPad 4, taking on the design cues of the iPad Mini. Making the new tablet smaller and thinner to match has its own problems, though, which could be solved by using a slim LED backlight.

According to NPD DisplaySearch’s Paul Semenza, talking to CNet, “It’s likely that part of the thinner/lighter design will be reducing the size of the LED backlight, partly by making the display more efficient and partly by using more efficient LEDs.”

The iPad 3 and iPad 4 were both slightly heavier and thicker than the iPad 2 due to the extra components required for the Retina screen. Apple’s now looking to reduce that deficit and slim down its next-generation iPad.

While a slimmer LED backlight can help, it’s also rumoured that Apple is going to switch its entire screen technology. Sharp’s IGZO technology is the most talked-about tech for Apple to use, as it would let the company build a thinner, lighter screen.

Apple’s going to need to slim down the existing iPad if it’s to produce a 9.7in tablet that’s more in-line with the design of the iPad Mini, which also has a thinner bezel. Recently, alleged pictures of the iPad 5 have leaked on Nowhereelse.fr, showing the screen and bezel with a hand behind them.

Obviously, this could be Photoshopped, or it could simply be a shot of a Chinese clone. However, from everything that we’ve seen and read about so far, it would appear as though the iPad Mini 2 will be the inspiration for the iPad 5. As to how it will actually look, we’re going to need to wait until later in the year to see what Apple has really been up to.