There have long been rumors that Apple intends to refresh its popular and powerful iPad Pro lineup with something new, a tablet that takes the current model and upgrades it in a way that will offer improved colors, contrast, and more. That upgrade, which is thought to bring an OLED display to the iPad for the first time, is expected to arrive very soon indeed. But you don't need to wait until Apple unveils its new high-end tablet to see just how big it will be — those figures have already leaked well ahead of time.
The leak shows CAD drawings of the new 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro tablets which means that we also know the key dimensions of the device, giving us a clearer picture of what to expect. Those drawings also appear to confirm what we'd already come to expect — the OLED iPad Pro won't have any major design changes when compared to the model that is currently on sale.
CAD drawings often leak ahead of an official launch after being made available to accessory makers, often those that produce cases. Those companies need exact measurements to ensure that their new products will fit correctly without ever having seen a real iPad Pro before it ships to the world. It also means that case makers can have their new wares ready to go on launch day, something that can be highly lucrative. That suggests that these figures will be exactly what we see when Apple's OLED iPad Pro starts to arrive at the doorsteps of buyers.
Impossibly thin
These leaked CAD drawings come via MacRumors and show that the new iPad Pro will be slightly larger than the one that it replaces in both the 11- and 13-inch configurations. The new 11-inch model will measure 249.70mm x 177.51mm whereas the outgoing M2 model comes in at 247.6mm x 178.5mm.
It's a similar story for the 13-inch model — the new variant will measure 281.5mm x 215.5mm while the previous M2 version measured 280.6mm x 214.9mm.
While the new tablets are expected to be slightly bigger than the outgoing versions, one vital statistic is expected to shrink — a previous report claimed that the OLED iPad Pros will be more than 1mm thinner than the models they will replace, something that could go a long way to making the overall device feel smaller despite its larger dimensions.
As for what the OLED iPad Pro will have to offer beyond dimensions, the OLED display is set to mean improved HDR capabilities as well as a potential for battery life improvements. But the display won't be the only change here — Apple is also expected to ship the new tablets with its latest M3 silicon inside which will also offer improved power management and of course, better performance. The chip is based on TSCM's 3nm manufacturing process and is already being used in the iMac and 14-inch MacBook Pro.
If rumors are correct we can expect Apple to announce the new iPad Pro lineup very soon indeed with claims of a March release having been floating around of late. The iPad Pro isn't expected to be the only model Apple refreshes, however. Rumors also claim the iPad Air will get an overdue refresh including an updated 11-inch model and an all-new 12.9-inch version, too.
