Apple expected to reveal new 10.5-inch iPad Pro at WWDC

Posted:
in iPad edited June 2020
In addition to a rumored Siri-powered home speaker, Apple is also expected to announce a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro with a redesigned chassis at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month.




There is over 70 percent likelihood that the new iPad Pro is unveiled at the WWDC keynote, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities. He said an announcement at the June 5 keynote would make sense, because suppliers are gearing up for mass production in early June.

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro is expected to have a form factor similar to the 9.7-inch model, but it will feature a larger display due to narrower bezels. Kuo predicts that the new design will improve the user experience and help Apple gain traction in enterprise markets.

Kuo forecasts that shipments of the new 10.5-inch form factor will be between 5 million and 6 million units in the current fiscal year, accounting for 15 percent of total iPad shipments in 2017.




The analyst said that Foxconn will be the sole assembler of the new-look iPad Pro, while GIS will be the sole supplier of touch panel modules.

Kuo actually believes that Apple is more likely to unveil the next iPad Pro at WWDC than it is the rumored Siri home speaker. He gives the rumored Amazon Echo competitor 50-50 odds of being announced at the conference.

Kuo, who has a reliable track record in predicting Apple's future product plans, previously indicated that the Siri-based hardware will carry a premium price, featuring high-end audio with 1 woofer and 7 tweeters. He also believes the device will be powered by a capable custom processor equivalent to an A8 CPU or newer.

WWDC remains a software-focused event, however, and this year Apple is widely expected to announce iOS 11, macOS 10.13, watchOS 4 and tvOS 11. It's likely that those software updates will launch to the public in September, if Apple sticks with its usual annual release patterns.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 49
    doozydozendoozydozen Posts: 539member
    "Kuo predicts that the new design will improve the user experience and help Apple gain traction in enterprise markets."

    That makes all the sense...
    cornchip
  • Reply 2 of 49
    tenchi211tenchi211 Posts: 96member
    Just received my 9.7 inch iPad Pro from FedEx Yesterday. I have not opened it yet and I'm considering returning it and waiting out the new iPad. Decisions, decisions...
    smack416mkrewsoncornchip
  • Reply 3 of 49
    tenchi211 said:
    Just received my 9.7 inch iPad Pro from FedEx Yesterday. I have not opened it yet and I'm considering returning it and waiting out the new iPad. Decisions, decisions...
    I didn't realize FedEx made iPad Pros. Interesting. 
    irelandSpamSandwichboredumbdoozydozencalebbenbekke
  • Reply 4 of 49
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Yep, 10.5" should fit into the current 9.7" iPad size. It's a great size.

    All I'm hoping for is for built in, lag free, perfect, Mac extended desktop, Cintiq killer, functionality that Apple Insider was mentioning here. It is the only Apple rumor that has had me excited in years. It would mean a lot to me.
    irelandrandominternetperson
  • Reply 5 of 49
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Apple should make a Mac tablet.
    MackyMacbrucemc
  • Reply 6 of 49
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Okay, but why. What does this do that the 9.7” and 12.9” don’t?
    SpamSandwichcalebbenbekke
  • Reply 7 of 49
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    10.5" would be great. A display just that bit larger to make things more readable onstage, but not much larger, if at all, to handle. I love the form factor of my Air 2, and anything much larger won't fit into my Hercules mounting cradles.
    netmage
  • Reply 8 of 49
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    Okay, but why. What does this do that the 9.7” and 12.9” don’t?
    It's 15% more display area. Maybe some of that 0.5–0.6" difference will be pushed into shrinking the bezel so the casing size can be about the same. Maybe shrinking the bezel with a 9.7" display made it feel too small. Maybe they plan to add more pixels which would then make the scales for the UI work better if the display was at 10.5".

    Diagonal @ Ratio = Width × Height =   Area
    9.7"  4:3  7.8"   5.8"  45.17"sq
    10.5"  4:3  8.4"   6.3" 52.92"sq
    edited May 2017 tallest skilcornchip
  • Reply 9 of 49
    lito_lupenalito_lupena Posts: 116member
    maybe apple will introduce ios features that work on near bezelless devices. and since they can't release the iphone x just yet, they'll use this new ipad pro form factor during wwdc to showcase the software.
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 10 of 49
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Okay, but why. What does this do that the 9.7” and 12.9” don’t?
    We don't know yet. For one, though, it appears to provide 3/4" larger diagonal canvas area on a device the same size as a regular iPad.

    Looking ahead Apple should release a similar product for the larger canvas size: 13.7" and kill off the 9.7" & 12.9" iPad Pros, showing a clear distinction between iPad and iPad Pro, and lower the price. 32 GB iPad Pro should start at $499; $599; $699—keyboard and pencil and Beats or AirPods bring the price up another good amount and lower entry means you sell more pencils and keyboards and get way more people using iPad Pro.
    edited May 2017 tallest skil
  • Reply 11 of 49
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    maybe apple will introduce ios features that work on near bezelless devices. and since they can't release the iphone x just yet, they'll use this new ipad pro form factor during wwdc to showcase the software.
    It'll be named iPhone 8. It's also unclear if iPhone has on screen Touch ID, will this new iPad?
    edited May 2017
  • Reply 12 of 49
    leptonlepton Posts: 111member
    Once this thing runs Xcode, I can almost toss my laptop!
  • Reply 13 of 49
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    lepton said:
    Once this thing runs Xcode, I can almost toss my laptop!
    almost
  • Reply 14 of 49
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    appex said:
    Apple should make a Mac tablet.
    Hahahaha NOPE!
    doozydozen
  • Reply 15 of 49
    robjnrobjn Posts: 280member
    If new hardware creates new opportunities for developpers it will be introduced at WWDC even if it is not quite ready to ship. Both the Siri speaker and the revamped iPad could support new software caperbilities that Apple might want to have developpers working on before the new hardware hits stores.
  • Reply 16 of 49
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    appex said:
    Apple should make a Mac tablet.
    O rly?
    cornchip
  • Reply 17 of 49
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    So does this device support 3D Touch?
  • Reply 18 of 49
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    appex said:
    Apple should make a Mac tablet.
    Why? For who?
  • Reply 19 of 49
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    appex said:
    Apple should make a Mac tablet.
    Knock yourself out.

  • Reply 20 of 49
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    I'm waiting for an upgrade to the 12.9" version.
    calebbenbekke
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