If the rumours are to be believed, 2024 iPad Pros should be announced by Apple soon. And the suggestion is that the top-of-the-range tablet among iPad generations could get a design change that many of us have long wanted.
Normally, the way things go with Apple products is that cheaper models inherit features from the previous generation of Pro devices. Thus, the standard iPad gets features from iPad Pro a year or so later, and the standard iPhone inherits novel features from the iPhone Pro. But it seems Apple may reverse that trend by
adopting a design cue from the 2022 iPad 10 for the new Pros: namely, a landscape-oriented camera on the front.
As first spotted by MacRumors, Apple leaker Instant Digital has shared evidence on the Chinese social media platform Weibo backing up the rumour. The post includes an image of that the new iPad Pro could look like, suggesting that the whole TrueDepth camera array will move the right side of the device, while the microphone will remain on top in a new centre position.
It's not the first time that we've heard this suggestion. Back in January, it was noted that iPadOS 17.4 beta code suggested the iPad Pro’s Face ID sensors were going to be moved from the top of the device when held in portrait to the top when held in landscape. Instant Digital has claimed that the sixth-gen iPad Air will get the same design change.
Face ID first appeared on the 2018 iPad Pro and has been on the short side of the display ever since. That made sense when iPads were mainly used in portrait-orientation. But the way people use iPad has changed, particularly iPad Pros which have as much power as many laptops. People often use the tablet horizontally, be it for streaming and video calls of for using for work in combinations with one of the best iPad keyboards.
So far, the only iPad to move the a selfie camera to the long edge is the 10th gen iPad, which was released in October 2022 alongside the last iPad Pros. Last year (2023) was unprecedented in that it was the first year in the iPad's existence that Apple released no new tablets, so the company hasn't yet had a chance to apply the same design change to other models.
It might seem unusual for Apple to take a feature from a lower-end tablet for the Pro, but the 10.9-in iPad was the last iPad to be released, but it would be a welcome move for the increasing number of users who take video calls with the iPad docked in a keyboard, and would make sense for the reportedly imminent release of new iPad Pro and Airs.
The rumours suggest that new iPad Pros and iPad Airs will be released very soon. Rumours have suggested that the releases will include the biggest iPad Pro redesign ever. See below for the best prices on the current iPad lineup.
