William Gallagher
A new report claims that Apple is planning to change the iPad Pro design to feature both its camera and rear Apple logo in landscape orientation.
Leaker Dylandkt, whose track record includes accurate claims about the iPhone 13 Pro, now says Apple is planning to change a key design feature on the iPad Pro.
Future iPad Pro's will feature a horizontal camera placement and a horizontally placed Apple logo on the back. Apple will make landscape mode the default for iPad Pro usage. I have not confirmed whether the next generation model will have this feature but it is in the works.
— Dylan (@dylandkt) September 23, 2021
The iPad has always been promoted as a device that can be held in any angle, but it is not completely symmetrical. Currently iPad Pro cameras are positioned so that they are right side up when used in Portrait mode, for instance.
While users can readily hold the iPad Pro in landscape to take photos and not notice any issues, certain other apps do have problems. FaceTime, for instance, expects landscape by default, but this can be changed. The Apple logo, of course, is embossed and permanently in the orientation it ships in.
If Dylandkt is correct, Apple will be addressing this in a future iPad Pro, and also suggesting that landscape is the "correct" way to hold the device. That more fits the kind of professional workflow that the iPad Pro is being used for, as opposed to the Portrait orientation that arguably better suits users reading books.
Leaker Dylandkt was previously the first to correctly report that the M1 processor would be used in the iPad Pro. More recently, he has claimed that the expected 14-inch MacBook Pro will have the same performance as the next 16-inch MacBook Pro.
No previous rumors regarding the iPad Pro have suggested this orientation change. For the most part, they have detailed expectations about whether the iPad Pro may gain MagSafe
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10 Comments
I’m neither advocating for the dominance of either Portrait nor Landscape over the design of Apple products, but I would appreciate Apple making sure that using portable devices in either orientation has as few compromises as possible. The orientation of the Apple logo does not matter at all to me, but the placement of physical controls does matter. I’ve always despised Apple’s decision to move the power button on its larger phones to the side, which started with the iPhone 6 Plus. I’ve missed several photo opportunities by accidentally hitting the power button while changing my hold on the phone to take a landscape photo or video. Portrait mode videos … why??? Can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned on the screen of my phone while sliding it into my pocket. Pocket glow madness.
Apple could solve the logo “problem” by creating a small round screen using an e-ink display and triggering the orientation of the logo using the gyro. Talk about a fluff feature, but if that’s what it takes to keep owners of devices that don’t have cases or have logo peek-a-boo cases happy, why not?
Yes! Finally. It’s past time.
but I don’t care about the logo.
It’s about time! To me, it’s the most glaring issue with the iPad. I have used one since they were first released. I love my iPad, but I have always used it in landscape mode. Our eyes are set in our heads side by side. Humans evolved to scan the landscape horizontally, not vertically.
Who is the arbiter of “professional?” Doctors, pilots, architects, artists all use portrait heavily. It’s the devices angle agnostic functionality that attracts users and lets them decide how to hold it. I’d think a solution to the camera is to install 2 front-facing - one at each “top” side… might give some cool options to camera angle effects too.