Whether or not Apple announces the new iPad Pro 2 during the WWDC event is still unclear. Fortunately, a little patience could be all that is called for if a recent report by Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed.
The KGI Securities analyst opines the Apple June 5 – 9 developer’s meet does have a good chance for the iPad Pro 2 to be revealed. He even pegged the chances of the device getting announced during next month’s event at a healthy 70 percent.
Kuo is also of the opinion that the next iPad version will have a larger 10.5-inch display while still maintaining the same form factor as the 9.7-inch iPad. This would be brought about by reducing bezel depth, thus freeing up more screen real estate.
However, doing so will also need a thorough re-design of the iPad to ensure the overall rigidity of the device isn’t compromised. With less of bezels, there will be more emphasis on the display itself to be of more load-bearing capacity.
Kuo meanwhile said he based his launch prediction on the production ramp up that is expected to be put into effect by the end of the present quarter. Kuo also added the total iPad Pro 2 shipments to be around 6 million units in 2017 fiscal. This should make for 15 percent of the total iPad that will ship in 2017.
The iPad Pro 2 is believed to come with some significant upgrades compared to its predecessor. Those include a reworked front end sans the iconic home button, with the Touch ID sensor likely placed underneath the display.
Earlier reports suggest Apple has been facing technological challenges implementing the fingerprint sensor below the front display. It remains to be seen if the company has made it past all such. And if that indeed is the case than the forthcoming anniversary iPhone 8 too will surely have a similar setup.
Further, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro 2 is also touted to have a bezel-less front end, or extremely thin bezels if at all. Powering all the three variant could be the latest A10X chipset and will likely have minimum storage option of 512 GB. A new 12-megapixel camera too is being associated with the new iPad Pro 2 range, complete with a True Tone flash.
The Siri smart speaker could still be an important announcement during WWDC as this will allow the developers enough time to have applications ready to accompany its grand autumn launch. With Apple poised to ship 10 million units of the speaker during this financial year, developers no doubt have another excellent platform to hedge their bets on.
