14 DAY TRIAL // After the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, Apple may be planning to take the wraps off another overhauled device.
New code discovered in iOS 12.1 beta indicates that the revamped iPad Pro is just around the corner, and it could see daylight sometime next month.
9to5mac has come across references to so-called “iPad2018Fall,” which is a direct suggestion that a new tablet is coming this year. Apple has included app updates to show “how to use the new gestures on a new model of iPad,” the cited source notes.
It’s expected that the 2018 iPad would borrow the new gesture-based navigation from the iPhone X and come with features like Face ID facial recognition.
Face ID on the iPad
These are changes that are very likely to make it to the new iPad, especially as Apple is working heavily on replacing Touch ID with Face ID across the entire device lineup.
Most likely, iPads will also come with increased screen estate as part of a major redesigned basically coming down to shrinking bezels. It’s not yet clear if a notch would be used as well on the iPad Pro, as the top bezel could be large enough to host the facial recognition modules.
Rumor has it that iPad Pro could also land with a USB-C port later this year, as Apple wants to replace the Lightning port, possibly as a way to comply with regulations in Europe.
As for the launch of the new iPad Pro, details are vague right now, but there’s a chance that the release could happen in October, possibly alongside other products, like an updated MacBook lineup and a revamped Apple Pencil. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple wants to host a new launch event, as it did in the case of the iPhone.