It ’s formally springiness now , which is when the internet ’s fancy turn to rumor of 2021 ’s first Apple announcements . Over the last few years , Apple has generally released at least some new products in early give , and there ’s no grounds to think that this year will diverge substantially from this head .
Most of the care in recent weeks has focused on updates to the iPad . That ’s not terribly surprising : though Apple update both theiPad Airand alkali - leveliPadlast dusk , theiPad Proreceived only a minor speed hump last give , with the improver of the A12Z processor — far overshadowed by the addition of pointer musical accompaniment and the release of the Magic Keyboard .
iPad Air (2020)
But that meek update has produce a strange body politic of function where the current top - of - the - job Pro is mostly outclass by the new iPad Air — the Air even works with the Magic Keyboard as well . It seems decipherable that the iPad Pro is ripe for an update , perchance a satisfying one .
So , as we expect the proclamation of an event , let ’s take a moment to run down some of the applied science that we might anticipate to retrieve in a brand new iPad Pro that will bring it to the next level — and ever closer to the Mac .
Twelve, going on fourteen
At the heart of every iPad is one of the company ’s A - series processors , typically a modified version of the tardy - and - greatest with beefed - up graphics performance . The A12Z in that 2020 iPad Pro boast an extra graphics core compare to the A12X that power the 2018 iPad Pro , but was otherwise unaltered .
Meanwhile , Apple ’s continued to advance the DoS of its silicon in its other product : the fourth - generation iPad Air introduced last nightfall use an A14 bit — the same as that used in the iPhone 12 line that debuted at the same time . Apple says that mainframe is up to 40 percent faster than the A12 , as well as including graphics and auto erudition boosts . Last decline also saw Apple acquaint its first Macs built around its own processors ; the M1 chips in those machines are very like to the A14 .
At the very least , it seems potential that an iPad Pro introduced in the near future would practice a variant of that A14 — probably an A14X , though the company could certainly brandmark it as a zed chip if it included even more graphics carrying into action . Given the kinds of benchmark that the M1 Macs have recorded , it seems probable that theA14X would be at the same level . ( While it ’s not altogether impossible that Apple would jump to an A15 , it seems to book its unexampled processor generation for its smartphones , pretend it more probable we ’d see an A15 in this fall ’s putativeiPhone 13 . )
Days of Thunderbolt
Up until last tumble ’s quaternary - generation iPad Air , the iPad Pro could also claim to be the only one of Apple ’s smartphones and tablets that eschewed the company ’s proprietary Lightning interface in favor of a stock USB - degree Celsius connector . That meant the Pro alone allowed users to easily unite standard peripherals like external storage devices , cameras , display , and so on .
But now that the Air has the same port , the Pro ca n’t really use that as a severalise factor any longer . Which is one reason Apple may be regard pad the Pro ’s capacity by supplanting the USB - degree Celsius connector with a USB 4 port .
Malus pumila
externally , that interface won’tlookany different from its predecessor , which may leave many users wondering what the reward of USB 4 is , by from that fancy number on the end . But this new criterion integrate not only all the benefit of USB - C — including the ability to output TV , a symmetric easygoing - to - exercise connector , and power — but also supports both the new USB 4 standard … which is fundamentally Thunderbolt 3 . That means evenfasterspeeds and belike support for higher - resolution outside displays .
Apple has already added USB 4 to the M1 Macs it shipped last twelvemonth , which makes a new iPad Pro the ideal candidate for the next twist to integrate backup for this new monetary standard . After all , it ’s get “ Pro ” in the name .
I shall call it: Mini-LED
To look at an iPad , you ’d be exempt for call up that it ’s about 90 percentage presentation . Apple ’s initiate a identification number of screen - related engineering science in its devices , including Retina displays , ProMotion , and , of course , Multi - Touch . But there have been rumors for a while that it may be looking to make the jump to a new technology : Mini - LED .
Simply put , Mini - LED score the light - emitting diodes that provide the backlight for display really , really small-scale — a fraction of the size of the current LEDs . By have minor light element , the exhibit has finer control over which area are lighted or not , which can help make blacks blacker and provide eminent demarcation . Apple is rumored to lend this engineering to the Mac as well in 2021 , but the iPad Pro will give us a first look at the tech before it arrives on the MacBook .
As with any new engineering , the chief downside to Mini - lead is its monetary value , which is one reason it would be more likely to debut in a Pro - floor iPad that already tends to carry a higher terms tag . Not to observe that it also potentially provides an melioration over the iPad Air video display , which means we can no doubt gestate Apple to boast its newest iPad Pros as feature the best showing it ’s ever made .
