The current iPad range is one of the most populated we’ve seen. It includes two iterations of the standard iPad, the iPad mini, the iPad Air, and the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, so there’s plenty to choose from. It seems Apple isn’t stopping there, though; rumors suggest it could be adding an even larger iPad Pro to the line-up. Here’s everything we know about the next-generation iPad Pro.
Update March 15: The new iPad Pro will likely arrive before the end of March.
2024 iPad Pro release date: When will the M3 iPad Pro arrive?
Following no iPad updates at all in 2023, it looks like there will be a new iPad Pro in 2024. With the last update to the range being in October 2022, and iPad Pro launches tending to happen every 18 months, a spring 2024 update is nearly a certainty.
For some clues as to when Apple could launch the new iPad Pro, we normally look at past launches, but the iPad Pro has a very inconsistent release history:
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (6th gen): Oct 2022
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (5th gen): Apr 2021
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (4th gen): Mar 2020
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (3rd gen): Oct 2018
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch (2nd gen): June 2017
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch (1st gen): Mar 2016
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st gen): Nov 2015
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in March that the new iPad Pro could launch in March 2024. He also said at the end of January 2024 in a Power On newsletter that Apple has gone into “deep” production with the next generation of iPads and the MacBook Air to prepare for a late March release. We were hoping Apple would hold a spring event to launch the new iPads, but after the M3 MacBook Air arrived in early March, it’s clear there won’t be holding one this year. Instead, look for the new iPad Pro in late March or early April via a press release on Apple.com.
Read about the other new products Apple is launching in 2024.
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2024 iPad Pro display: Apple’s first OLED tablet is coming
The current LED (on the 11-inch model) and mini-LED (on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro) are set to be replaced by OLED, according to Ming-Chi Kuo in November 2023. The iPad Pro will be the first iPad to transition to OLED displays, with the rest of the iPad lineup to follow.
Back in December 2022, Display analyst Ross Young suggested that Apple is planning to move the entire iPad line to OLED by 2024. This matches what Gurman wrote when he predicted that “an updated design and OLED screens” would be coming to the iPad in the spring of 2024.
There is yet more evidence that OLEDs are coming: market research company Omdia has also stated that the iPad Pro could see OLED upgrades by 2024. In addition, leaker Yeux1122 has claimed that Apple is in negotiations with LG, Samsung, and Chinese companies for active matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs). More here: Apple may upgrade nearly every iPad with an OLED display.
2024 iPad Pro design: A thinner lighter model on the way
A 9to5Mac report in February 2024 indicated that the new iPad Pro will be thinner. This is apparently a result of Apple’s switch to OLED for the screen, which will shave some millimeters off the thickness of the device.
The new dimensions are said to be as follows:
- 11-inch iPad Pro (2024): 249.7 mm x 177.5 mm x 5.1 mm
- 11-inch iPad Pro (2022): 247.6 mm x 178.5 mm x 5.9 mm
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2024): 281.5 mm x 215.5 mm x 5.0 mm
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2022): 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.4 mm
If Apple does reduce the thickness of the iPad Pro it isn’t clear what this will mean for the next-gen iPad Air, which is reported to be getting a new larger model, making it even more like the iPad Pro.
Also regarding the design of the iPad Pro, a code snippet in the iOS 17.4 beta suggests that Apple might move the camera from portrait to landscape orientation like it has with the standard iPad. The code indicates that the FaceID setup could happen with the iPad in landscape orientation. Additionally, a rumor in March 2024 claims that Apple was indeed moving the placement of the camera to the longer landscape edge.
2024 iPad Pro size: Is there going to be a 14-inch model?
Currently, there are two sizes of iPad Pro: a 12.9-inch model and an 11-inch iPad Pro. Reports have suggested for years that Apple is working on a 14-inch model as a higher-end flagship model.
The rumor of a larger-screened iPad started with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman back in June 2021. He wrote that Apple was considering making iPads with larger displays, but not to expect anything for a few years. In December 2023 Gurman suggested the new iPad Pro could be 13-inches. Another leaker named Majin Bu has also posted that a new 14.1-inch iPad Pro is in development.
Display analyst Ross Young also claimed in 2022 that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro model was in development, and that “early 2023” was a likely release schedule. It appears that the tweet is no longer on Twitter/X, but initially, he tweeted in June 2022 that the 14.1-inch iPad Pro was “confirmed” to be in development. However, it appears the release is either delayed or canceled and the larger model won’t arrive this year.
However, Apple is set to launch a new 12.9-inch iPad Air in 2024, so a 14-inch iPad Pro may make an appearance at some point, especially now that Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro are available.
2024 iPad Pro price: How much will the 2024 iPad Pro cost?
At the moment, these are the starting prices for each model in the current iPad Pro range.
- iPad Pro 11-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $799/£899
- iPad Pro 11-inch Cellular (2022): $999/£1,079
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $1,099/£1,249
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch Cellular (2022): $1,299/£1,429
If Apple moves to OLED screens and introduces a larger iPad Pro we may see a price hike. “If Apple wants to maintain the price gap between the iPad Air and iPad Pro to preserve its existing product segmentation strategy,” Kuo explained in a late-2023 report, “it means that the new OLED iPad Pros may see a price increase.”
Some reports have claimed the new iPad Pros will be “massively more expensive,” with prices starting at $1,499 for the 11-inch model and $1,800 for the 12.9-inch model. However, other reports say the price increase won’t be quite so large.
2024 iPad Pro: What features will the 2024 iPad Pro have?
The current iPad Pros are powered by the M2 chip, so it makes sense for an M3 chip to appear in any new 2024 models. We don’t think Apple would go so far as to offer an M3 Pro option, as the Pro versions of Apple’s chips have so far only appeared on higher-end Macs and the M2 in the iPad Pros already provides more power than it needs.
Storage is expected to remain the same. Apple currently sells 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB iPad Pro configurations, which is more than any other iPad and quite a lot of configurations when you consider all the color combinations and screen sizes. It’s possible that the company could change to starting with 256GB or 512GB at the entry level.
2024 iPad Pro specs: New keyboard
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicated in a September 2023 newsletter that Apple is planning a new aluminum Magic Keyboard with a larger trackpad, that will be released alongside the M3 iPad Pro. The aluminum finish is said to make the iPad Pro feel more like a lMacBook when docked.
We’ll update this article as more details are revealed, so check back regularly to see what we dig up. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up the best deals on iPad Pros so you can always get one now rather than waiting.
Source : Macworld
