A serial leaker has shared ludicrous rumors about Apple's 2024 lineup of iPad Pro models, but the claims include highly doubtful specs, such as a 14.1-inch model with a 3,000-nit screen.
iPad Pro
Short of any surprise announcements, Apple has effectively concluded its hardware releases for 2023, with the rumor mill turning towards 2024's introductions. However, sometimes those rumors seem far-fetched, or at best, a wild and hopeful piece of speculation.
In a Tuesday tweet on X, frequent leaker @MajinBuOfficial offers information that they were "told" about the iPad Pro lineup for 2024.
The list of specifications starts off with a "new design with thinned bezels," in 11-inch, 12.9-inch, and 14.1-inch sizes.
The 14-inch iPad Pro is an outlier, and there have been claims a 14-inch model could've launched in 2023, which helps make it somewhat plausible. However, the rest of the rumor mill has kept very quiet about larger sizes for the most part, making it hard to believe it's actually on the way.
With the exception of the largest offering, these measurements would be at best an educated guess, since they match up to Apple's existing range. The next item, the use of M3 with a 12-core GPU and 8GB of memory, isn't much better, since Apple has put M-series chips into the iPad Pro for two generations already, so a third generation isn't much of a stretch.
This is what I was told about the new iPad Pro 2024 lineup.
-- Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) November 21, 2023
New design with thinned bezels, 11, 12.9 and 14.1
The first two OLED, the 14.1 mini LED to keep costs down
M3 with 8GB RAM, 12 core GPU
Display up to 3000 nits
New Apple Pencil 3 with interchangeable magnetic tips (for pic.twitter.com/PtOV7y93IW
The leaker then goes on to say the models will sport OLED and have a brightness of up to 3,000 nits. While other leaks and rumors do propose an OLED model will be on the way, the brightness claim may be a bit excessive.
The current M2-based iPad Pro range, using mini-LED backlighting, manages a peak brightness of 1,600 nits for HDR content. Meanwhile the OLED-based iPhone 15 Pro can get to 2,000 of peak brightness when pushed outdoors, making 3,000 seem decidedly excessive.
MajinBu then goes on to discuss accessories, including a new Apple Pencil 3 with "interchangeable magnetic tips," which patent listings have offered in the past. Majin Bu has also made claims about an interchangeable Apple Pencil 3 in September, so this could be a continuation of that fairly impractical concept.
A new aluminum Magic Keyboard is also offered as on the way, complete with two built-in USB-C ports. However, this seems implausible unless Apple changes how the keyboard connects to the iPad itself, due to those two USB-C ports.
There is a belief that MagSafe will be included instead of the Smart connector, but that also introduces questions such as how the Magic Keyboard would connect to the iPad Pro, and where MagSafe would be used instead.
There are also lines stating there is no mention of the "material used" in the iPad Pro's production, and that it will have a "software-only Dynamic Island." The software Dynamic Island is extremely hard to believe, as the Dynamic Island's purpose is to effectively hide the camera hole with a UI change, something that wouldn't matter for the iPad Pro and its unblemished-with-cameras display.
It is doubtful that many elements of the post are true, considering MajinBu's very poor track record when it comes to leaks and rumors. In the post itself, Bu also couches how true the post is, by stating "I'm not sure of the source so I can't take this information too seriously but I think it's okay to report it anyway."
An early comment from fellow leaker Mark Gurman admonishes Bu, declaring "I disagree with the idea of reporting false info, with all due respect." Bu responded that information should be "considered false" until Apple's launch events prove otherwise, but that they feel they "can trust the people who report the information."