RUMOR - New iPad Pro with 4K HDR over USB-C, face id, new pencil, and more incoming

Will definitely want to buy this for several reasons, one is to use my shitty macbook pro I hate
- I have an iMac that I use at home
- my macbook pro is old and fucking dog shit, need something else for spotify/surfing which is all I use and it's still slow -_-
- I have a superior macbook pro for work
- will be spamming procreate to draw regularly, anywhere.

Just need the pricing to stay the same

For some reason, my Pro has been slower than usual in Procreate. This will be tempting.

Sounds powerful. It'd be nice if there was a more robust Adobe CC experience to take advantage of it.

Apple has an incredibly strong replacement cycle this year.

iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.
Apple Watch Series 4.
iPad Pro full redesign

And possibly a new Mac Mini even.

Sense said:

As an IPad Air 2 owner, would this be a substantial upgrade?

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I went from an Air 2 to the Pro and it's a major upgrade. The four speakers, high refresh rate, and pencil support alone was worth the cost.

Huh. That's pretty wild. Does the iPad have any apps to do any basic coding like a terminal with vim and ssh capability?

What's the benefit of video out?

Turning it into a more PC like device? I guess it already supports bluetooth keyboards, right? So dock it, mirror the screen, finger as mouse, keyboard for typing, etc?

EinBear said:

I've been keeping an eye on these rumours for the last few weeks, really hoping they do end up announcing them this month.

I've not been too impressed with my Android tablet, so very keen to swap over and see how the other half live. Will my first Apple product since the iPhone 4S haha

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My 2018 iPad and Pencil are my first Apple products since the iPhone 4S as well. It blows even the more expensive Android tablets out of the water, and it's the budget model!

tulpa said:

Wow, they're switching to USB-C for the iPad Pro? Could this be the start of Apple switching over or nah?

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The MacBooks started it I guess, but if there is no lightning on the iPad, that could indicate a shift. When was the last time iPads showed the direction of travel for next year's iPhones though? If it can do landscape FaceID then that's another thing this year's phones can't do. I'm still holding on to an iPad 4th gen, which is working ok even with a cracked screen, this would be very tempting.

Chittagong said:

Apple has an incredibly strong replacement cycle this year.

iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.
Apple Watch Series 4.
iPad Pro full redesign

And possibly a new Mac Mini even.

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The iPhones updates are relatively minor, but should bring in the cash for Apple. The Series 4 watch is pretty much like iPhone 4 in delivering on the initial promise. Any major Mac updates would be 'strong' though since they have gone so long without so much as touching them. It's been years for the desktops.

linkboy said:

I'll be really, really shocked if Apple drops the Lightning port.

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Okay, but how much will it cost? If the iPhones are clocking in at over a grand, how much will this sucker cost?

4K output?

Not 4K display?

Seriously?

Timbuktu said:

The MacBooks started it I guess, but if there is no lightning on the iPad, that could indicate a shift. When was the last time iPads showed the direction of travel for next year's iPhones though? If it can do landscape FaceID then that's another thing this year's phones can't do.

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yeah, true. there's a strong argument at this point that it's the most forward-thinking single action apple could take as a company. reducing clutter, reducing electronics waste, transitioning towards single chargers that work for all devices and a wider range of electronic appliances

Ah shit sounds amazing. I need all of this like yesterday.

When do these usually get announced?

My launch iPad Pro had died for no discernible reason. It was out of warranty.
Apple ended up giving me a new one (refurbished) for a $90 charge, despite it being out of warranty.

I have no reason to upgrade because this iPad Pro is still awesome, but it sounds like an awesome update.

BAW said:

4K output?

Not 4K display?

Seriously?

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That's disappointing as fuck. Missed that bit.

Aurongel said:

I'm most curious about the new pencil. My girlfriend uses the Pro almost every day with the pencil for note taking and grading student assignments. She considers it indespensible.

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I'm the same. I laughed when the Pencil was announced with a $100 price tag. Then I tried it and it's still the most accurate stylus I've ever used. It really is almost exactly like writing with a real pencil or pen.

Now I literally can't do my job without it since I give written feedback on essays using my iPad.

I sold my iPad Pro a few weeks ago, so this is great timing! I was never able to use my Pencil all that much before my dog chewed it up.

I'll be the first in line to grab it in 2021

Hopefully they make the pencil smaller and give it a better-feeling tip as well as magnetic attachment.

BAW said:

4K output?

Not 4K display?

Seriously?

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The current PPI of iPad Pro still looks great, but yeah...I'm going to hold onto my current one (it still runs great) until we are seeing a 4K 12.9" OLED. Or at least higher resolution than the current one. Probably going to be a while!

Wow that's a nice bump. Maybe I'll snag the previous Pro to replace my original Air.

I wonder if they're continuing with the iPad Pro name, given the shared functionality with the iPhone X range and the change to USB-C.

I could see them branding it as iPad X and keep a low capacity version of last year's Pro with Lightning ports, headphone jacks and Touch ID on sale for another year or two alongside the new iPad that gained pencil support. They carried on selling the iPad mini for many many years after it became glaringly outdated so I don't think they're going to get rid of the old models any time soon.

I don't think they're going to get rid of lightning for the phone, at least I don't see them replacing it with USB-C. I guess they could come out with an updated (and not backward compatible) version but I would be surprised to see them ship a phone with a larger port than the previous generation.

Is there actually 4K HDR displays shipping today of any kind at 10.1 or 12.9"? I know there are cheapo 4K panels (without HDR) and some LCDs with pretty high power consumption, but 4K HDR at that size would be pretty surprising. (That being said, it would be great if the new Pro at least goes above XS Max resolution or adds HDR)

btkadams said:

The current PPI of iPad Pro still looks great, but yeah...I'm going to hold onto my current one (it still runs great) until we are seeing a 4K 12.9" OLED. Or at least higher resolution than the current one. Probably going to be a while!

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OLED I get, but would we really benefit from that kind of pixel density on such a small device? Seems like overkill to me, considering the price leap that would come with it.

I mean, 4K @ 12" would yield what, another 150-200 ppi? (just guessing because I don't really want to do the math). I think it's currently at like 260~ ppi. Just doesn't seem like a significant gain for a display that small that already has some incredible pixel density.

Would it be possible that they move to a design with multiple ports? If they're positioning it as a workhorse machine then it might stand to benefit from multiple ports.

8byte said:

OLED I get, but would we really benefit from that kind of pixel density on such a small device? Seems like overkill to me, considering the price leap that would come with it.

I mean, 4K @ 12" would yield what, another 150-200 ppi? (just guessing because I don't really want to do the math). I think it's currently at like 260~ ppi. Just doesn't seem like a significant gain for a display that small that already has some incredible pixel density.

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I sometimes watch movies on my 12.9" iPad and the videos definitely give the appearance low-res versus my 4K TV. I get that it's an unfair comparison at this point, but I can't help myself from seeing the downgrade.

The OS/UI and regular app-use still looks really good. It's when I'm watching 1080p iTunes Store videos on it that it looks a little lacklustre.

btkadams said:

I sometimes watch movies on my 12.9" iPad and the videos definitely give the appearance low-res versus my 4K TV. I get that it's an unfair comparison at this point, but I can't help myself from seeing the downgrade.

The OS/UI and regular app-use still looks really good. It's when I'm watching 1080p iTunes Store videos on it that it looks a little lacklustre.

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I think that might just be a scaling issue. 1080p on a 50" set only has about 30-40 ppi I think, so the iPad *should* look better, but maybe when it tries to scale the 1080p content, it's not very effective so it comes out softer than it should.

In that regard, a 4K display would be closer to native so the video content would look better, but that's about it. I don't think you'd see a notable difference in many other areas outside of video (since games can render at a native res they won't be considerably improved on that size of display).

I'mno expert Btw, so i could be totally off base here.

Rendering... said:

I don't need this but I want this.

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Yeah, I have a 12.9 Pro that I bought used last year. Still had AppleCare so I sent it in for a battery swap this spring and I'm pretty sure they sent me back a mostly new one. Either way the thing is a beast and there's no reason for me to upgrade for a while. I use it as a 'laptop' (second screen to browse internet not on my work computer) at work w/ the keyboard case and at home I use it more for Comic reading. I'm sure the new pro will look gorgeous but can't justify upgrading while this thing still works great.

I do look forward to whatever new stuff they throw into iOS for it, hopefully don't wall off the good stuff to only the newest model.

Also the Apple Pencil is a must. I don't even use it for writing or drawing, I use it primarily for interacting w/ the iPad, it's closest thing to having a mouse I'm gonna get. Feel clumsy trying to use the iPad with just my finger. Don't know how Apple is going to improve on it outside of better battery. If they were able to have it work with higher end iPhones as well, I'd be in but I know that's a pipe dream.

Oh boy, my Apple fanboy friend already thinks Apple invented USB C this won't steer him on the right path :p

I cannot afford the past and current iPad Pro 12" models as is, but this may pull me in... not gon lie

Everything sounds great, but I really hope they put at least 8GB of RAM in the higher-end models. Ideally with 16GB or 32GB options.
iOS is efficient with its memory management, but high resolution images need RAM to work with lots of layers.

BAW said:

4K output? Not 4K display? Seriously?

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The current iPad Pro is 2732x2048 at 120Hz. That's 35% more pixels/second than a 4K60 display, and is still 264 pixels per inch.

Since the iPad uses a 4:3 display, what would you expect from a "4K" device?
2732x2048 is 90% of the 4:3 2880x2160 resolution. Or were you hoping for 3840x2880?

btkadams said:

I sometimes watch movies on my 12.9" iPad and the videos definitely give the appearance low-res versus my 4K TV. I get that it's an unfair comparison at this point, but I can't help myself from seeing the downgrade.

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I guarantee that this is because you're sitting closer to low bit-rate media, and nothing to do with the display's resolution.

Why the hell doesn't Apple choose only one port ?

Pargon said:

Since the iPad uses a 4:3 display, what would you expect from a "4K" device?

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9 million pixels, whatever resolution that is.

They're sure taking their damn sweet time announcing it! Waiting for this to move a portion of my workflow. The new Pencil has me the most excited since I refuse to buy the PoS current one. It better have a less embarrassing way to charge, buttons and eraser.

My wallet is ready. Hopefully they announce soon.

Chromhound said:

Why the hell doesn't Apple choose only one port ?

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Easier to force customers to pay more for proprietary cables than use an industry standard

I don't really need a new iPad but this thing is so tempting. If they don't raise the price I'm probably in at launch. Otherwise I think I'll wait for some sort of deal (hopefully...lol).

I'm all in if I can hook this to my TV for 4K HDR playback. Was eyeing an Apple TV 4K but haven't been able to justify it when I have other means.

I've been waiting for this since like May. Hurry up and announce it lol

I don't get the cries for the usb c port on the iPhone. I haven't used a lightning cable with my phone once since getting it. Wireless charging and WiFi sync are all I need. Sure it's a minor nuisance that I have to carry an extra cable around when travelling but it's such a relatively small issue it doesn't warrant the outrage imo.

USB C actually makes sense on the iPad as the device now has features that require the extra throughput.

Br3wnor said:

Also the Apple Pencil is a must. I don't even use it for writing or drawing, I use it primarily for interacting w/ the iPad, it's closest thing to having a mouse I'm gonna get. Feel clumsy trying to use the iPad with just my finger. Don't know how Apple is going to improve on it outside of better battery. If they were able to have it work with higher end iPhones as well, I'd be in but I know that's a pipe dream.

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I think the battery on the Apple Pencil is fine, especially considering how rapidly it charges.

One area they could certainly improve in is the pressure sensitivity. Not necessarily the levels of pressure (I think what it offers is fine), but the curve of the pressure. Currently it's pretty rapid and requires quite a bit of finesse, say, compared to a Wacom pen, which has a considerably smoother curve for pressure.

That sounds like an instant buy for me.

can we have new mini instead :<

Now if only the software would catchup to the hardware...

TI92 said:

Easier to force customers to pay more for proprietary cables than use an industry standard

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USB-C isn't an industry standard?

BAW said:

9 million pixels, whatever resolution that is.

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4K isn't even 9 million pixels - it's only 8.2M.
For 8.2M pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio, that would be roughly 3328x2496, with a pixel density of ~323 PPI.
9M pixels would be 3466x2600 with a pixel density of ~336 PPI.

I'm not sure why you are fixated on total pixel count though. It would almost certainly require them to drop the refresh rate from 120Hz.
I will gladly take any improvements in resolution they can provide, so long as it doesn't sacrifice refresh rate, but the current resolution should not be a deal-breaker for anyone.

PeakPointMatrix said:

They're sure taking their damn sweet time announcing it! Waiting for this to move a portion of my workflow. The new Pencil has me the most excited since I refuse to buy the PoS current one. It better have a less embarrassing way to charge, buttons and eraser.

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I never really saw why people had an issue with this.
Everyone loves to make fun of how Apple devices require cables and adapters for everything, yet they finally release a device which does not, and are ridiculed for it.
With the current design you don't need anything except the pencil and iPad itself. 15 seconds of charging gets you 30 minutes of use.
Anything else would require you to carry a cable around with you.

TI92 said:

Easier to force customers to pay more for proprietary cables than use an industry standard

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Lightning was introduced two years before USB-C was finalized.
It's rumored that there are deals in place where Apple guaranteed that they would not replace the Lightning connector within a certain amount of time for compatibility with accessories (docks etc.) which is holding up USB-C adoption on the iPhones, but it does not apply to the iPad.

Something tells me they're going to jack the starting price up by $100.

Enzom21 said:

USB-C isn't an industry standard?

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When they say USB-C, they mean Thunderbolt right?