What design and features to expect in the new iPad Pro

The new iPad Pro 2018 is also called the iPad X and is inspired by the iPhone X in design and features but with few changes with the interface coming with iOS 12 in Australia. With round corner screens that would make it match the iPhone X making it easier to swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to bring up the Home screen, and swipe down from the top right to see Control Centre are few features to expect. Apple is about to remove the Home button from at least some iPads and so the case may be for this new iPad. Find here some of the design and features that you would expect in the new iPad Pro 2018.

New iPad with Face ID

With the release of the iPhone X at the end of 2017, it is looking likely that the iPad Pro design will take inspiration from that phone – so you can expect to see the famous notch, and no more Home button.

Bloomberg’s sources back in November 2017 expected “at least one” new iPad model to ditch the Home button and go for an edge-to-edge screen, replacing Touch ID with Face ID. The sources didn’t expect this screen to be OLED, however. They don’t say why not, but after the production difficulties and supply shortages that the iPhone X’s OLED screen seemingly caused, Apple now may be shy of going all in on the technology just yet.

New iPad with TrueDepth Camera for Animoji

Back in October 2017, former KGI Securities analyst Mini-Chi Kuo predicted that the new iPad Pro would include the TrueDepth Camera for Animoji and Face ID.

Further evidence of an iPhone X-style iPad came from developer Steven Troughton-Smith who on 5 July tweeted that he had spotted more evidence that Apple will launch an iPad with Face ID.

Troughton-Smith has tweeted his discovery of an iPad version of AvatarKit – the software that Animoji uses.

If the iPad is to offer Animoji it follows that it will be equipped with a TrueDepth camera. New iPad gestures in the iOS 12 beta also suggest that the new iPad will lack a Home Button and feature a notch.

New iPad will have Rounded corners

As said above the new iPad will have rounded corners, but there is increasing evidence to suggest that, like the iPhone X, the new iPad’s screen will follow the curves of the chassis. An icon found in the iOS 12 beta appeared to hint at a very slight rounding at the corners of the screen, but it was too small to be sure. However, another asset has since been discovered and it seems more conclusive. The asset is a UI mask for rounding the corners of app interfaces, and its shape is unmistakable.

New iPad will have Bigger screen

By removing the home button and slimming down the bezels the new iPad Pro model will enable Apple to push the screen size of the 10.5in model closer to 11in. Alternatively, it may keep it the same size while shrinking the chassis.

A Chinese report claims that an 11in iPad Pro is on the way, along with the 12.9in version and that suggests that the larger 12.9in iPad Pro would be no larger than it is currently – but it may be the case that Apple is able to make the dimensions of that model smaller while still accommodating the larger screen.

New iPad with a Second display

In Feb 2018 Apple was granted a patent, spotted by Patently Apple, for “Dual display equipment with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections”. If you check out the details it reads a lot like a second display for an iPad or Mac – one that would be used for a software keyboard. There are two applications, one with the second display connected to the body permanently and movable via a hinge, and the other allowing it to be removed and reattached as required.

It seems likely that this second screen would be used as a touchpad-style keyboard. There are also suggestions that it could be used with the MacBook in the future.

New iPad processor

iPad Pro models generally include a modified version of the processor in the preceding iPhone – last time around the iPhone 7 came out with an A10 Fusion chip, and the iPads got an A10X Fusion. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X both come with the A11 Bionic processor, so we’d expect the iPad Pro models released in 2018 to feature a slightly souped-up A11X Bionic, although the A11 is super fast already.

You can buy the new iPad pro from Apple store outright in Australia once it is released.