The updated iPad Pro expected in spring 2024 could make a change tablet users have wanted for years: move the front-facing camera for better horizontal use.
Modified wording in the just-released iPadOS 17.4 beta suggests the camera move is on the way.
Horizontal iPad Pro camera … finally!
With more people working from home, video conferencing has become a normal part of work and personal lives. But there’s a problem with FaceTime calls on an iPad: when the tablet is held horizontally — the way most people use it — the front-facing camera is way off to the left.
There’s evidence the next generation of iPad Pro will save users from seeming to be staring off to the side of the people they are talking to.
Steve Moser turned up a change in iPadOS 17.4 beta 1 that says, “During Face ID setup, iPad needs to be in landscape with the camera at the top of the screen.”
Admittedly, this could be for iPad 10, which already has its front-facing on the long edge of the tablet. But that wouldn’t explain why a feature from a 2022 model requires a change in an upcoming iPadOS version.
Besides that, iPad 10’s configuration is an acknowledgment by Apple that landscape mode is the better location for the camera so the 2024 iPad Pro is widely expected to have its camera in the same place.
Other changes in the 2024 iPad Pro
Moving the front-facing camera is only one of several improvements revealed by leaks. Most notably, multiple sources indicate 2024 will bring the first iPad Pro with an OLED screen rather than the tablet’s traditional LCD.
And leaks also indicate the tablet will come with the new Apple M3 processor that’s also used in some 2023 MacBooks.
Potential buyers should be warned that the improved display might come with an increase in price. We’ll know for sure when the tablet launches — probably in March or April.
