iPad Pro 2 Launch: Press Release This March Or An April Event At Apple Campus?

The Cupertino-based tech giant will purportedly release the new iPad Pro 2 soon. And adding to the launch anticipation for the new slate is the possibility that Apple will offer it in four major variants, including a smaller iPad Pro model.

Most of the details existing online about the iPad Pro 2017 are only based on speculations, which mean nothing has been made official to the public yet by Apple, particularly when talking about its potential release date. But based on the latest grapevines, the launch of the iPad Pro 2017 models could just be around the corner.

The earliest possibility for the iPad Pro 2017’s announcement could, in fact, be this week. According to MacRumors, a research firm that did not want to be named told them that Apple could reveal its new products this month and most likely, it could happen “during the week of March 20.” However, the firm did not specify the kind of Apple devices slated for release and how will they announce them. To provide a particular Apple product that might be made public in just a few days, the publication cited a prediction from a Japanese blog site Mac Otakara, which mentioned that a 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2 could be announced this week.

However, those who are religiously following Apple’s release traditions for its product could say that the likelihood of a proper launch event happening this week for the 2017 iPad Pro seems dubious, especially since there hasn’t been any kind of invitation sent out to media yet. So, to explain what could be a more realistic expectation from Apple this week, Mac Rumors noted the following.

“Given that Apple usually invites the media to a launch event at least 10 days beforehand, and if the information we were provided about Apple announcing new products as early as next week is accurate, it is possible the so-called ‘iPad Pro 2’ could be announced via press release rather than at a launch event.”

If the March announcement for the 2017 iPad Pro will not push through, the next rumored release timeframe for the updated iOS tablet is April where a keynote could be held for the first time at the Apple Campus to mark its inauguration as well.

“Apple has moved ahead the production for its planned new 10.5-inch iPad to March instead of an earlier timetable set for May-June and is expected to unveil the new iPad at a product event to be held in early April,” reported DigiTimes, citing supply chain makers in Taiwan as its sources.

We noted earlier in this article that four iPad Pro 2 variants could be scheduled for release this 2017. And you might already have a hint that two of these models are a 9.7-inch and a 10.5-inch versions of the iOS tablet. BGR reported that that 9.7-inch 2017 iPad will be equipped with an A9 processor while the 10.5-inch iPad Pro is getting the A10X chipset.

Brooke Crothers, a contributor for Forbes interviewed Rhoda Alexander, IHS Markit’s Director Tablets and PC, who said that the 2017 iPad Pro design with a 10.5-inch display will have slimmer bezels, resulting to similar physical size as that of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

“You end up with a unit that’s the same physical size as the 9.7 inch,” Alexander explained. This will make it possible for customers to also use accessories such as the Smart Keyboard with the 10.5-inch tablet.

Catering to the high-end market, an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro is reportedly in the works, too, which could be boasting of a 12MP primary camera as well as True Tone display, which the existing 9.7-inch iPad Pro uses. An upgraded 7.9-inch iPad may also be set for release this year, unofficially referred to as the iPad Mini Pro by tech news publications.

Interested in watching a concept trailer for the 2017 iPad Pro versions? Check out the video below.

https://youtu.be/xEMR_XWtoP4

[Featured Image by Stephen Lam/Getty Images]