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New iPad Pro may have matte & glossy screen options

Using iPad Pro and Apple Pencil


Leaker claims the new iPad Pro will be offered with a matte screen for the first time — and so may the forthcoming iPad Air.

While most of leaker Instant Digital's claims have concerned the iPad Air — with suppliers reportedly shipping finished models to the US — the latest touches on both that and the next iPad Pro. Doubling down on a previous claim that the iPad range will be revised "next week," the leaker also claims to have partial knowledge of a matte finish.

Posted on Instant Digital's Weibo account, the update's reference to "bright and fog" is likely to be a mistranslation of gloss and matte. This fits with the claim that the latter is also referred to as having eye protection.

A laptop displaying a social media post with text about upcoming iPad versions and a photo of an iPad on a desk. Original posting on Weibo

No iPad has been released with a matte glass finish before, but this won't be the first time Apple has used it or similar technology. Starting with 2019's then-new Pro Display XDR, Apple has sometimes used nano-texture glass, to date the company's highest-quality anti-reflective technology.

Instead of more traditional matte finishes which may overlay the glass with a mostly transparent cover, nano-texture displays have patterns etched into the screen. This makes reflections scatter and so avoids creating a mirror-like surface.

It's not clear from the leak whether the matte-finish iPad Pro, or iPad Air, will use nano-texture. However, Instant Digital also claimed this week that the forthcoming iPhone 17's display in 2025 would be both stronger and anti-reflective, than the current model.

Note that while Instant Digital has been reporting multiple leaks in the last week or so, it does not yet have a long-term history of accurate leaks. Most recently, the leaker was correct about the yellow iPhone 14, for instance.



6 Comments

hmurchison 24 Years · 11825 comments

Matte glass.....ooh let me run to grab the credit card. 

I feel for these companies.  Trying to come up with fascinating hardware and software advancements on an annual or even quarterly basis is incredibly difficult to sustain.

tht 24 Years · 5681 comments

Question for those who have nano-textured ASD and XDR models. How's it look after a while? Are you able to clean all the gunk off the "nano-textured" surface and it looks like new?

I am tempted with this option.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
inkling 19 Years · 774 comments

Will matte offer something I'd love to see on iPads, a 'feels like paper' texture for the glass. A less slippery surface would make using an Apple Pencil feel more like using a traditional pencil or pen. That would be a plus for those doing graphics.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
williamlondon 15 Years · 1428 comments

inkling said:
Will matte offer something I'd love to see on iPads, a 'feels like paper' texture for the glass. A less slippery surface would make using an Apple Pencil feel more like using a traditional pencil or pen. That would be a plus for those doing graphics.

Did you see this recent review?? Rock Paper Pencil review: the iPad upgrade every artist needs Haven't checked it out myself, but other reviews have been positive as well.

entropys 14 Years · 4326 comments

With the no doubt massive mark up for a matte screen, you could buy several years worth of Apple Polishing Cloths.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes