There’s one Apple rumour that just refuses to go away: the 12-13in iPad Pro. Rumours that Apple was getting ready to launch such a devices were hotting up last year, but we got the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 and that, it would seem, was that. Fast forward to this year and those pesky rumours have started to gather momentum again, bringing new hope that we’ll get the larger iPad model this year. Here, we’re looking at all of the rumours to work out what’s likely to come out and when we can expect the new tablet. As always, this information tends to change quickly, so make sure that you come back and check for the latest information regularly.
Release date
There have been lots of conflicting rumours about the larger screen iPad. Last year, Bloomberg said that the iPad Pro would be launched in Q1 2015, although that’s clearly wrong given the current date. There’s a good chance that there was some confusion created by the new 12in MacBook, which was launched in March and will be available in the UK soon.
Reuters has stated that the iPad Pro will come out in September, and this is due to component shortages. Once again, we have to point out that we’ve never seen a true report about Apple products being delayed due to shortages. In fact, we’re now getting quite bored of reading these kinds of stories about every single upcoming Apple product.
Far more likely is that Apple will wait until it’s ready to launch the iPad Air 3 later this year, Given that it likes to release products on a yearly cycle, that means that we should see the new iPads around September/October time, including the iPad Pro.
Specs
It’s currently a matter of guess work at the moment, but we’ve had some tantalising glimpses of what might be on offer with the new iPad Pro. First up, it’s likely to have a 12.9in screen, making it considerably bigger than the 9.7in iPad Air we’ve currently got.
According to ETNews, LG is ramping up production of high-resolution oxide TFT panels, which will be used by Apple to manufacture the new iPad. Speaking to the publication, an LG Display related official said, “Investment to produce 30,000 sheets next year’s second quarter have started. Apple is creating iPads with 12.9 inch display, which shows they are increasing the panel size. And because so, we are planning in expanding production rate as well.”
Some rumours have said that the panel will have a 2K resolution, which is 2,048x1,536: the same as the iPad Air 2. Given that this resolution on a larger screen would reduce the pixels per inch (PPI) and make the screen a non-Retina one, we can’t see that happening. Instead, Apple’s likely to increase resolution. The Korean Times has reported that the iPad Pro will have a 4K resolution. This is normally 3,840x2,160, although that’s on a display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. As Apple has used 4:3 screens on previous iPad’s, a 4K resolution would most likely be 3,840x2,880. In truth, we’re likely to get something somewhere between the iPad Air 2’s resolution and 4K.
When it comes to the processor, the iPad Pro is likely to get the latest mobile chip available. Given that Apple created the special tri-core A8X for the iPad Air 2, we’d safely say that the iPad Pro is likely to get a new the A9X chip, which will launch later in the year. We’re also likely to see 2GB of RAM, which the iPad Air 2 also ships with.
According to the Wall Street Journal Apple is considering adding USB ports to the iPad. We don’t know if this will be in addition to the Lightning connector, or as a replacement: the new MacBook uses USB C for everything.
Otherwise, the rumours are that the iPad Pro will weigh 700g, have an 11,000mAh battery and will be 7mm thick. There’s also a chance that the tablet will ship with a stylus, making it the first touchscreen Apple device to do so.
Design and leaked photos
It seems as though the iPad Pro won’t be too different from the existing iPad line. Alleged leaked photos shown on HDBlog.it show a close-up of a case that looks reassuringly familiar. It also seems to show a second port on the side, which could well be a USB C port.
A second leaked photo of an iPad Pro dummy unit has also made its way onto Chinese social networking site, Weibo. While you can’t see a lot of detail, the shot shows what a 12.9in iPad would look like and the design is familiar enough.
Finally, nowhereelse.fr has leaked shots of an iPad Pro case, which shows how big the new model would be compared to the iPad Air 2. Of course, anyone can make a case for a product that doesn’t exist, so these shots don’t reveal a lot; however, they’re interesting to give us a feel for the size of the new product.
Operating system
Given that the iPad Pro is likely to launch later in the year, the smart money says that it will launch with the latest operating system, iOS 9. This operating system is due to be announced at WWDC in June and will have a beta available for it later in the year before it launches alongside the iPhone 6S.
Price
It’s hard to work out the pricing at the moment, but it’s safe to say that the iPad Pro will cost more than the iPad Air 2. The question is, how much more? If we take the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus the price difference started at £80 more for the larger screen model. We can expect at least that between the iPad Pro and iPad Air 2, so the minimum that the iPad Pro will cost is £489. Realistically, we can expect a bit more of a premium, but we’ll have to wait until there’s more information.