Since its arrival in Spring 2010, the iPad has gone through some remarkable changes. The change from the first to second generations was immense, for instance. The arrival of the iPad Air was a striking step forward in industrial design and has now become the model for the latest entry-level iPad, reviewed here.
But arguably the biggest change so far came with the various models of iPad Pro, from the 12.9in screen model released in fall 2015, to the 9.7in the following year and the 10.5in model which went on sale last June, reviewed here.
The latest rumor, however, based on a supplier report posted by Japanese site Mac Otakara and picked up by 9to5Mac, suggests that this autumn's upgrade models could be a similarly big step-change.
So, what's been suggested in the latest leak, and how likely is it all, anyway?
Face ID to replace Touch ID
This is a real game-changer and I think it's very likely. For a start, it echoes other leaks, including one report from the ever-reliable Ming-Chi Kuo, which said that the next iPad Pro would switch the security system from Touch ID to the Face ID used on the iPhone X.
This makes a lot of sense to me. For a start, it saves space when you take away the Touch ID button. And if you've used Face ID on the iPhone X you'll know it's a sublimely easy, very efficient system that works like a dream. It also has the side effect that the interface will switch from the one on the current iPads and most iPhones to the swipe-up-to-unlock mechanic favored by the iPhone X. Apple hasn't said so, but I think Face ID is the future and will be on every new iPhone model from now on and every iPad Pro. It may even be on next year's presumed update to the entry-level iPad.
So it would be good to unify the user interface between devices, as anyone who has tried to swipe up on their current iPad will know.
Incidentally, Ming-Chi Kuo's assertion is that the next iPad Pro will have an 11in display, not the 10.5in screen currently, and as predicted here. This latest rumor also says there'll be a new 12.9in model, too.
Thinner bezels
Take away the Touch ID button and you suddenly have the option to remove the real estate that it currently takes up, making for a slimmer bezel. Just how slim will depend on whether the display technology remains LCD or swaps, like the iPhone X, to OLED. If the latter, Apple could potentially use a flexible OLED as it does in the iPhone X. There, it folds it round so that the element that creates the chin on most smartphones, the display controller can be hidden and give the iPhone X an all-screen effect.
I'd expect the next iPad Pro to have an LCD screen, but that doesn't mean there'll be a huge bottom bezel as a result. With larger gadgets like tablets you can deliver strong aesthetics with a wider bezel than on a phone. It's possible the next iPad Pro might have a screen that swirls round the Face ID camera unit, like on the iPhone X, but I'm going to guess that won't be the case with the iPad Pro. Apple loves symmetry so it will likely have a similar-sized bezel at top and bottom, just enough to encompass the Face ID area at the top and display controller at the bottom.
The long edges could have very thin bezels, though, they're not exactly fat on the current model.
Assuming the next iPad Pro keeps the same 10.5in and 12.9in screen sizes, then it seems more likely than ever that the screen tech will be LCD.
More compact dimensions
According to MacOtakara, the new iPad Pro models will be smaller, which makes sense given the thinner bezels that are predicted. The 10.5in model will, apparently, shrink from 250.6 x 174.1 x 6.1mm to 247.5 x 178.7 x 6mm. The larger,12.9in device will also shrink, the site says, this time from the current measurements (305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9 mm) to 280 x 215 x 6.4mm.
This is logical, since Apple has always wanted maximum screen size in minimum gadget dimensions, and the iPhone X is merely the purest form yet of that desire.
Designed to look like the iPhone SE (only bigger)
The report Mac Otakara quotes says that the edge of the new iPad Pro will be diamond-cut, similar to the iPhone SE. Well, the iPad design has evolved gently over the years but I find this less likely. This is a gadget that rests in the palms of one or both your hands and the sharp back edge of the iPhone SE doesn't work in a machine this size - or is this a lack of imagination on my part? I would expect Apple to have thoroughly thought through the comfort of the iPad Pro and I just can't square this with diamond cut edges front and back.
No headphone jack. Wait, what?
I'll be honest, I'm really not sure about this one. Apple may want to unify the interface between tablet and phone but it has never shown any interest in making the designs carbon copies in other ways. For instance, the power button on the iPhone moved from the top edge to the upper east side, as it were, from the iPhone 7. But every iPad since has still put that button on the top edge because, I believe, the ergonomics are different.
Sure, Apple is edging us to a wireless future, but AirPods and other wireless headphones already work with the iPad, so the only reason to drop the headphone jack that I can see is if the tablets are too thin to house it.
Again, I may be wrong, but I'm sceptical about this.
Different orientation for Smart Connector
I'm sorry, Mac Otakara, but your supplier is really losing me now. The theory is that the Smart Connector which currently sits on the left edge of the iPad Pro will move to the bottom, near the Lightning connector.
The thinking given is that because this is a tablet with Face ID, unlocking with the iPad in landscape orientation is impossible. So the Smart Connector, used, for example to connect to the excellent Smart Keyboard, will work only in portrait orientation and connect at the base of the iPad Pro.
Maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part but I just can't see how this will work. The Smart Keyboard will have to be roughly similarly sized to how it is now to be usable - under these rumors it will already be 4mm narrower and any more than that will be a deal-breaker, I'd say.
Of course, you could disconnect the keyboard from the iPad Pro where it fits perfectly as a front cover and connect it to the base for typing but, first, that's clumsy and not at all Apple. Second, it would likely leave the upright tablet feeling unstable.
There was a rumor of Face ID working in landscape position too, which seems a more likely solution to me. Or else Apple has done something I haven't thought of.
As a company, Apple is hard to predict but it's also very easy to profile. And part of that profile is that it thinks everything through in incredible detail. This makes the new Smart Connector position unlikely to say the very least, to my mind.
So, how likely is this rumor?
Size, bezels, Face ID - all very likely, I'd say. But the diamond cut edges and removal of headphone jack are less so, though still possible. The movement of the Smart Connector baffles me. The new tablets are coming this fall, I’d guess, so it's not long to wait and I'll update this post as more rumors surface.
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