First photos of alleged 'iPad Pro 2' surface in China

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPad edited July 2016
A pair of photos supposedly snapped by a worker in Apple's Asian supply chain show what appears to be a next-generation iPad bearing an unknown device identification number, suggesting the company is preparing production of a successor model.




The picture set, sent in to AppleInsider by an anonymous tipster on Sunday, is said to originate from within a Chinese supplier currently working on an iPad Pro model scheduled to go into production in late September.

As seen above, the device is identified as model number MH1C2CD/F, a designation not assigned to any current or past iPad models. The identifier does, however, follow Apple's device numbering convention, which applies derivatives of order number ML0G2LL/A -- ML3N2LL/A for cellular models -- to existing 12.9-inch iPad Pro iterations. Because forging a device identifier is a relatively trivial process, AppleInsider cannot vouch for the veracity of the photos and presents the following for purposes of discussion. That being said, Apple is due to bring a 12.9-inch iPad Pro refresh to market sometime this fall.

If the photos are indeed legitimate, they provide a few clues that suggest the pictured unit is a pre-production or prototype device. For example, the tablet is carrying only 12 gigabytes of storage, just enough for loading an operating system and apps for internal testing and hardware debugging. As for the OS itself, the photos reveal a build number corresponding to Apple's latest iOS 10 beta, which was released to developers earlier this month.

Unfortunately, not much else can be gleaned from the provided images. No frame of reference is offered, making it impossible to determine screen size, design or new potential new hardware features with any accuracy.

Rumors regarding a new iPad Pro have been few and far between, though Apple is expected to refresh its tablet lineup after launching the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in September of last year. Like past hardware refresh cycles, the company is anticipated to include a faster processor, likely dubbed A10X, an enhanced camera and True Tone display technology borrowed from the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

There has been no word on a potential launch timeline, but with production rumored to begin in late September, Apple might announce the next-generation tablet after an anticipated "iPhone 7" debut that same month. That could make for a separate iPad and MacBook event in October or November, as the company is also rumored to launch a revamped MacBook Pro with OLED touchbar in the fourth quarter.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,192member
    "iPad Pro 2 surface"?

    Microsoft's amazingly popular tablet made its way into the title!  ;-)
  • Reply 2 of 15
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,623moderator
    Someone doesn't know the difference between launched and introduced.  This is the second article where the introduction date of an Apple product has been referred to as its launch date.  Admittedly, one could say the word launch refers to the introduction of a product, even if it ships weeks later, but why would you.  There's potential for misinterpretation, and there's a perfectly good word that's been used for years in context of Apple products; introduced.  The other word being shipped or released.  Launched seems to be closer to those latter two than to introduced. 
    lollivernetmage
  • Reply 3 of 15
    adrayvenadrayven Posts: 460member
    jdw said:
    "iPad Pro 2 surface"?

    Microsoft's amazingly unpopular tablet made its way into the title!  ;-)
    There.. fixed that for you.. lol

    They are still struggling to sell more than a million of those things a year.. so 'popular' isn't a word that applies really. Yes, they ship more than that to retailers, but thats not 'sold' units. Retail receipt tracking services show a much different story.

    That had a bit of a jump when they went international.. not sure how long that will last..
    edited July 2016 williamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 15
    chuckdchuckd Posts: 34member
    The iPad line needs a redesign. They've used the same design language since iPad mini was introduced the year following Steve's death. Only external changes they've made is drill speaker grille holes on top, removed the mute switch, and redesigned the antenna lines. 

    No exciting new carbon fiber or lightweight composite shell design. Instead, every year it's the same unergonomic chamfered edges pressing against the palms of your hands. Boring. 

    Where is the flexible display iPad I can fold into a square and slide into my chest pocket, Apple?
    edited July 2016
  • Reply 5 of 15
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    jdw said:
    "iPad Pro 2 surface"?

    Microsoft's amazingly popular tablet made its way into the title!  ;-)
    Uh, well. Using the 12.9"iPad Pro since day one, I consider the hardware almost perfect. Yeah, it could get the better display of the smaller version, but what would really make it a lot more usable is a kickstand. The Smart Keyboard is not really useful for getting the device in a good position, and the Smart Cover is just pathetic (they should call it The Wobbly or The Collapse, depending on horizontal or vertical use). So, the Surface reference does make some sense after all.

    The biggest limitation of the 12.9" iPad Pro is software (or the lack of it). iOS 10 has pretty much nothing for it, and the little bit of effort third party developers were making came to a full stop once the 9.7" model was released. Heck, even Apple's own stores do not bother to scale fonts up to readable sizes after all this time. If I want to actually read a movie description in the iTS, I have to get my iPhone out since there is only fly crap on the 12.9"screen. I know, iTS is under Cue and thus hopeless, but one can wish...
    cyberzombieai46
  • Reply 6 of 15
    irelandireland Posts: 17,794member
    RAM, camera, true tone, A10X, display reflectivity, Force Touch ID and USB-3 Lightning (29W charger?) parody.
    edited July 2016 doozydozenpatchythepirate
  • Reply 7 of 15
    irelandireland Posts: 17,794member
    chuckd said:
    Where is the flexible display iPad I can fold into a square and slide into my chest pocket, Apple?
    And I suppose that has all the features of the existing iPad?

    Is the design boring or are you impatient with ttechnology? The iPad is doing very well IMO in terms of design. You don't like the chamfered edge design. Would you rather it was more slippery? Tell us exactly how you'd improve it beyond pipe dream improvements and maybe then we can then envision along with you. In the real world improvements must be designed and hopefully can be a good idea. Technological improvements yearly add up. Thankfully Apple aren't in the happy of designing things just for newness. Rest assured they'd receive a ton of bad PR if they did more of that.

    The children over on MacRumors already won't shut up about new watch straps.
    edited July 2016 latifbppatchythepiratewaverboy
  • Reply 8 of 15
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,357member
    That looks like a 9" iPad to me. The proportion of the camera, home button, and the hand on the left, in relative to the screen size, suggests it's smaller than the 12.9".
    stantheman
  • Reply 9 of 15
    larryalarrya Posts: 593member
    ireland said:
    RAM, camera, true tone, A10X, display reflectivity, Force Touch ID and USB-3 Lightning (29W charger?) parody.
    Do you mean parity, or are you calling this a farce?
  • Reply 10 of 15
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    So almost all hardware in the fall again. It would be nice if Apple could spread things out a bit so not everything depends on the holiday quarter.
    netmage
  • Reply 11 of 15
    stanthemanstantheman Posts: 332member
    palegolas said:
    That looks like a 9" iPad to me. The proportion of the camera, home button, and the hand on the left, in relative to the screen size, suggests it's smaller than the 12.9".
    I count the same number of rows in the left-hand column in Settings (photos) as on my 9.7" iPad, and the home button in the photo seems about the same size relative to text and other features on the Settings page as on my 9.7" iPad.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    TurboPGTTurboPGT Posts: 355member
    It's not even a 12.9" iPad in the photo, let alone a new one. 
  • Reply 13 of 15
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,367member
    chuckd said:
    The iPad line needs a redesign. They've used the same design language since iPad mini was introduced the year following Steve's death. Only external changes they've made is drill speaker grille holes on top, removed the mute switch, and redesigned the antenna lines. 

    No exciting new carbon fiber or lightweight composite shell design. Instead, every year it's the same unergonomic chamfered edges pressing against the palms of your hands. Boring. 

    Where is the flexible display iPad I can fold into a square and slide into my chest pocket, Apple?
    First, the iPad Pro line has been redesigned.  The edges are rounded like the iPhone 6 and I don't have an issue holding it, but would like the round to go all the way around.  There has been a lot of redesign. It's lighter, thinner and the sound out of an iPad Pro is absolutely insane. Seriously, it's an incredibly sounding device for being so thin.  They also added the smart connector, TouchID...

    Aluminum is the best choice which is why they stick with it.  It is in terms of strength, lightweightness, workability, recyclability, and cost.  I was working on a project and was surprised to find the cost to build something with aluminum was much lower than to do it with higher grade plastics.  So when you're getting into polycarbonates and carbon fiber, the price will go up for not a whole lot of benefit at all.  Aluminum can also be anodized in a variety of colors and finishes.

    As for a flexible display.... why? Oh. Why?  Do you remember using newspapers and how much of a pain in the but that was? I just don't understand the appeal to make something foldable.  Sure you could fit it in your pocket, but they you have a giant crease down the middle.  The reliability of the display will be diminished and the end user experience wouldn't be any better except for the "oh cool" factor.  I guess some people buy things for dumb novelty, but in real world usage I don't think there's an application.
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 14 of 15
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,324member
    jkichline said:
    chuckd said:
    The iPad line needs a redesign. They've used the same design language since iPad mini was introduced the year following Steve's death. Only external changes they've made is drill speaker grille holes on top, removed the mute switch, and redesigned the antenna lines. 

    No exciting new carbon fiber or lightweight composite shell design. Instead, every year it's the same unergonomic chamfered edges pressing against the palms of your hands. Boring. 

    Where is the flexible display iPad I can fold into a square and slide into my chest pocket, Apple?
    First, the iPad Pro line has been redesigned.  The edges are rounded like the iPhone 6 and I don't have an issue holding it, but would like the round to go all the way around.  There has been a lot of redesign. It's lighter, thinner and the sound out of an iPad Pro is absolutely insane. Seriously, it's an incredibly sounding device for being so thin.  They also added the smart connector, TouchID…
    No, the iPad Pro line has NOT been redesigned, at least not externally. Unless I've missed something fundamental, the edges are NOT "rounded like the iPhone 6" — they are chamfered in a fashion pretty much identical to the iPad Air and the iPad Air 2. Touch ID has been on the iPad since the Air 2, as well. 

    The audio is in fact new, as is the smart connector. 
  • Reply 15 of 15
    dewmedewme Posts: 4,762member
    This article inspires excitement on NO many levels.

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