The present iPad vary is likely one of the most populated we’ve seen.
It consists of two iterations of the usual iPad, the iPad mini, the iPad Air, and the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Professional fashions, so there’s lots to select from. It appears Apple isn’t stopping there, although: rumours counsel it may very well be including a fair bigger iPad Professional to the line-up.
Right here’s every part we all know concerning the next-generation iPad Professional, together with a possible new 14-inch mannequin.
When will the brand new iPad Professional be launched?
Apple didn’t launch a brand new iPad Professional in 2023, or any tablets in any respect for that matter.
Nevertheless, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman doesn’t suppose we’ll have to attend for much longer. He says that Apple will launch new iPad Professional and iPad Air fashions in March 2024.
This can be timed to coincide with a spring occasion, or Apple could publish press releases as an alternative.
For context, right here’s when the previous iPad Professional fashions have launched. Apple doesn’t keep a constant schedule, however by no means goes greater than 18 months between generations.
- iPad Professional 11-inch and 12.9-inch (sixth gen): Oct 2022
- iPad Professional 11-inch and 12.9-inch (fifth gen): Apr 2021
- iPad Professional 11-inch and 12.9-inch (4th gen): Mar 2020
- iPad Professional 11-inch and 12.9-inch (third gen): Oct 2018
- iPad Professional 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch (2nd gen): June 2017
- iPad Professional 9.7-inch (1st gen): Mar 2016
- iPad Professional 12.9-inch (1st gen): Nov 2015
How a lot will the brand new iPad Professional price?
For the time being, these are the beginning costs for every mannequin within the newest iPad Professional vary from 2022.
- iPad Professional 11-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $799/£899
- iPad Professional 11-inch Mobile (2022): $999/£1,079
- iPad Professional 12.9-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $1,099/£1,249
- iPad Professional 12.9-inch Mobile (2022): $1,299/£1,429
If Apple introduces the rumoured 14-inch iPad Professional, we’re prone to see worth rises on the high quality.
Apple tends to maneuver up by models of 100, and there are 300 between the bottom 11- and 12.9-inch fashions. So it appears affordable to take a position that the 14-inch iPad Professional will begin at $1,399/£1,529 or thereabouts.
What specs and options will the brand new iPad Professional have?
As you would possibly anticipate, there have been extra leaks and rumours concerning the Professional than another upcoming iPad mannequin.
Design
In response to code present in iOS 17.4 by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, the upcoming iPad Professional is prone to function a panorama Face ID digicam. The code specifies that in Face ID setup, the iPad must be in panorama mode with the digicam on the prime of the display.
Within the Tenth-generation iPad, Apple moved the front-facing digicam to the facet of the system to allow its use in panorama mode. Evidently Apple is constant this pattern with future iPads.
At the moment, the iPad Professional is the one mannequin with Face ID, so the code means that Apple could also be relocating the front-facing digicam from the highest to the facet of the system. Nevertheless, there’s a chance that Apple may additionally introduce Face ID to the iPad Air, through which case this alteration may apply to that system as properly.
Show
A brand new report by The Elec claims that OLED shows for Apple’s next-generation iPad Professional fashions have entered manufacturing.
OLED shows mark a primary for the iPad lineup, with Apple beforehand utilizing OLED expertise within the iPhone and Apple Watch. OLED gives deeper blacks and extra vibrant colors in comparison with LED or mini-LED, albeit at the next price.
iPad Professional fashions from 2017 onwards help ProMotion, providing a variable refresh fee between 24Hz and 120Hz. With OLED and LTPO show expertise, this fee may drop even decrease, probably reaching 10Hz or much less to save lots of battery. For comparability, iPhone 14 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional fashions can go all the way down to 1Hz in always-on show mode.
In the meantime, there have additionally been a slew of rumours concerning the 14-inch iPad Professional, that will or might not seem alongside the 2 normal fashions this 12 months.
Show analyst Ross Younger initially instructed, in June 2022, that the 14-inch iPad Professional will function a mini-LED show, identical to the present 12.9-inch iPad Professional. However in a tweet later that month, he posted that the bigger iPad would as an alternative have a normal LED panel, as on the 11-inch iPad Professional, citing price as a attainable cause.
Then, in December 2022, Younger instructed that Apple is planning to move the entire iPad line to OLED (via Macworld) by 2024. This matches what Gurman wrote (in January 2023). He predicted that coming to the iPad in the spring of 2024 (via Macworld) is “an up to date design and OLED screens”.
Apple can be mentioned to be working by itself micro-LED displays (via Macworld) that might finally make their manner into a brand new bigger iPad. Gurman additionally wrote in January that Apple would begin transitioning its entire lineup to micro-LED shows, beginning with the Apple Watch.
The hearsay of a larger-screened iPad began with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman again in June 2021. He wrote that Apple was considering making iPads with larger displays (via Macworld), however to not anticipate something for a number of years.
One other leaker named Majin Bu has additionally posted {that a} new 14.1-inch iPad Professional is in growth. Show analyst Ross Younger additionally claimed in 2022 {that a} 14.1-inch iPad Professional mannequin was in growth, and that “early 2023” was a possible launch schedule.
In December 2022 Younger was reported to have modified this prediction, suggesting that “Apple is not planning to launch a 14.1-inch iPad Professional with a mini-LED show in early 2023”, through MacRumors . Younger went on to say that Apple is not planning to launch the brand new 14.1-inch kind issue, so it might by no means launch.
With the discharge of Logic Professional and Last Reduce Professional on the iPad, it makes a variety of sense for Apple to supply an iPad with a bigger display and exterior show help.
Efficiency
Earlier than they deleted their account, X leaker Analyst941 reported (through Macworld) that Apple was planning on releasing the brand new iPad Professional with exterior help for as much as two 6K screens operating at 60Hz, the potential inclusion of an M3 Professional chipset, plus a “particular model of iPadOS 17” that was being developed for the bigger iPad Professional fashions.
A tweet from June 2022 by Majin Bu instructed that the 14-inch iPad Professional would comprise an M2 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of base storage, we’d solely anticipate to see the M2 used within the 14-inch iPad Professional if it launches individually to the remainder of the vary.
The present iPad Professionals are powered by the M2 chip, so it is sensible for an M3 to seem in any new 2024 fashions. However as a result of iPad’s skinny, finless design, it appears extra smart for the standard M3 to be on the coronary heart of the brand new iPad Professionals quite than the M3 Professional.
Apple presently gives iPad Professional configurations starting from 128GB to 2TB, alongside numerous color choices and display sizes. Contemplating this intensive array of configurations, there’s hypothesis that the corporate would possibly start with 512GB because the entry-level possibility. Nevertheless, it’s extra possible that Apple will remove the 128GB mannequin from the lineup.
Battery & charging
The 2024 iPad Professional might function MagSafe charging, as instructed by insider info from MacRumors. This follows earlier rumours about Apple’s exploration of wi-fi charging for the iPad, together with testing MagSafe capabilities.
Moreover, since new iPad Professional fashions are anticipated to obtain design updates alongside the introduction of OLED shows, a glass again might improve vulnerability to wreck. Nevertheless, it additionally may allow compatibility with new wire-free equipment.
Moreover, the iPad might help 15W magnetic Qi2 chargers, offering customers with extra charging choices.
Foundry
Equipment
Along with the iPad Professional, stories counsel that the Apple Magic Keyboard may also bear an replace. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman states that Apple intends to revamp the accent to present “the iPad Professional a extra laptop-like look” whereas incorporating a “bigger trackpad.”
Though Gurman didn’t elaborate additional, the inclusion of a bigger trackpad within the iPad Professional would undoubtedly be a welcome change.
As you possibly can see, there are many rumours and hypothesis concerning the next-generation iPad Professional. We’ll replace this text as soon as extra is revealed. Within the meantime, see our guides to the greatest iPads and greatest tablets.
