Mike Wuerthele
The rumor mills are starting to churn in advance of a future iPad refresh, with the latest pointing to an iPad mini expanding into the "Pro" lineup, the mid-size iPad Pro growing a bit, True Tone on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and microphone advances across the entire line.
According to Macotakara's sources, the iPad mini line will see a "Pro" model. The new "iPad Pro 7.9 inch" model will reportedly get the Apple Smart Connector, quad-speaker audio, four microphones, True Tone display with DCI-P3 "Wide Color" support, and a rear 12-megapixel camera.
The current 9.7-inch iPad Pro is said to grow to accommodate a 10.1-inch screen, and get the same quad-microphone advance that the iPad mini "Pro" model will allegedly get.
According to the report, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will get the same 12MP camera the iPad mini "Pro" model will be upgraded with True Tone flash, and the "Wide Color" DCI-P3 display as well.
First seen in the iMac 5k, Apple implemented Wide Color in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro with the True Tone display, and now with both models of the iPhone 7. While the iPhone 7 screen is a Wide Color display, it is not a True Tone display with automatic white point alteration in response to the ambient lighting situation.
In August, rumors claimed a 10.5-inch iPad would ship in 2017, with a shift to AMOLED displays in 2018.
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57 Comments
Yes! bring on V2. I've been holding out for the past year on the IPP. It gets more and more difficult each day not to snag one, especillay when there were no rumors and even rumors of "no update this year".
Cool to think the mini might not go away but does the mini really need to be a pro? I kind of looked at it as kindle competition, but I suppose if you want a gaming tablet that isn't an IP7 it makes more sense. It sure about a keyboard though which is at least in part what makes an IPP and IPP. If not just the size. Hmmmm. I dunno. I liked the mini. And maybe with a larger IPP I might want a smaller tablet for books. But at the same time the "plus" phones are basically big enough to fil that gap too.
I would like to see memory boosts and tru tone. 3D Touch ... Does 3D Touch make sense on an iPad? I guess so. Sure that would be great. If so. Then maybe we can "lose" the mechanical home button.
I have been wanting to purchase an iPad Pro but can't see spending that kind of money on a 1 year old device; it is expensive enough brand new.
Waiting for the refresh; hoping for some killer new features and a killer tricore/quadcore processor.
Not sure why Apple needs to at the "Pro" to an iPad Mini. I guess it is a marketing move.
If I were Apple I'd drop the mini and lower the price of the 9.7" iPad to the price of the mini. Then lower the price of the iPad Pro models down to the price of the 9.7" iPad. Just in time for the holidays too. Apple's doesn't need an iPad mini Pro model. There are way too many models of iPads as it is between the different screen sizes, old models, new models, Wifi models, LTE models, Pro models, capacity models, etc. Its just too much IMO.
The use case for an iPad Mini Pro is obvious; killing off the Moleskine.
But really, Pencil support + the Mini has been a long desired want of mine. I think they'll be more popular than many here expect.