Apple is planning to launch new iPad Pros in the first half of 2017 and according to a new rumor out of Asia, they may be a bit thicker than the previous models.
[contextly_auto_sidebar] While Jony Ive’s design team is notorious for making thinner and thinner devices, it appears that Apple may actually put function ahead of form next year.
Japanese Apple-site Macotakara claims the next 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be .3mm thicker. Citing an “informed source in Taiwan,” the site says the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will retain the same thickness and size but it will come with a 10.9-inch display.
Of course, Apple could change its plans or the site’s sources may be wrong. So take the rumor with an iPad Pro-sized grain of salt. Previous rumors have predicted Apple will use a 10.5-inch display.
Bezel-free
To make room for the bigger display, Apple will supposedly use a bezel-less design. The home button would have to be removed, but the FaceTime camera will allegedly remain in the front.
It’s unclear if Apple will make the side bezels smaller too. Other new features may include a TrueTone display on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. OLED displays aren’t likely to come to the iPad until 2018.
The new models could be announced as early as March 2017, which would be around the one-year anniversary of the smaller iPad Pro.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
One response to “iPad Pro may get thicker in 2017”
While the (near)Bezel free design is an improvement, the big improvement needs to be in the OS itself it’s just not there yet to replace a laptop as a primary device out side of the home. Which defeats the object of its Pro designation. I just bought 2 Air 2’s as gifts as for home use/general consumption they are second to none but if you have any vaguely heavy use I don’t think they are quite here when you compare to something like a surface.