Apple will add two new ports to the 2022 iPad Pro, according to an unconfirmed report. However, it’s not known what these will be for as they do not conform to any connectors used by current Apple devices.
But there’s no mention of a second USB-C port in the upcoming tablet.
Two mystery connectors for 2022 iPad Pro
The iPad Pro line already includes a USB-C port, the Smart Connector for communicating with keyboards and a built-in Apple Pencil charger. It seems these will be joined by two more.
“Reliable sources in China tell us that the upcoming iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) and iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) will have the same chassis design as the current iPad Pro series, but with 4-pin connectors on the top and bottom side edges,” reports Mac Treasure Tracing Club (AKA MacOtokara).
The Smart Connector has three pins, and it’s on the back of the tablet, not the edges.
Another possibility is MagSafe connectors, as Apple has been rumored to be adding this magnetic charging system to iPad. But the new MagSafe connector included in recent MacBook models has five pins.
That leaves the supposed four-pin connector a mystery. Apparently, something new is coming to iPad.
Similar leaks in the past gave the world early glimpses of the Smart Connector and Pencil charger.
No second USB-C port
The MacOtokara source makes no mention of an oft-requested feature for the iPad Pro: a second USB-C port.
Apple’s top-tier tablets are growing increasingly powerful. The upcoming 2022 iPad Pro is expected to boast an Apple M2 processor, the same as the latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. But it’ll apparently still be hampered by a single USB-C port, like its predecessors
The limitation essentially requires any accessories that connect to the tablet, like monitors and external drives, also be able to charge the iPad, as it can only get power through its single data port.
Unless the two mystery ports also include some way of charging the computer. But if these are some alternative version of MagSafe, why are there supposedly two of them? MacBooks have only one MagSafe port.
The enigma might not be solved until Apple unveils the 2022 iPad Pro, which is expected to happen in October along with the release of iPadOS 16. These could be followed in early 2023 with the first 14.1-inch iPad Pro.
