iPad Pro 2021 – All Rumours & Speculation About The Upcoming iPad Pro
Ok, what a year we had – 2020 was the year of the the biggest pandemic humans this side of the century have even seen but the advancements in technology never stopped, especially at Apple. If you see, they had their biggest year filled with product launches especially in the second half which kicked off with the excellent iPad Air 4. We marvelled at its Pro features and just before we could take a deep breath, we had 4 new iPhone models with all new design! Usually, it ends there but not this time, we then got a serious game changer in the form of M1 Macbooks as that “One More Thing” and even before we finished raving about how amazing that was, we got a one more “One More Thing” with the Airpods Max!! Wow, virus or no virus, technology advancements do not stop.
And 2021 just began, again very badly especially in the UK and we are already up to our necks with rumours! The are rumours and leaks about the upcoming 14 and 16 inch M1 Macbook Pros, Next Gen iPad Mini, iPhone 13 and my personal favourite, the iPad Pro 2021.
See, the iPad Pro 2020 for me is the best iPad I have ever owned. And I use it extensively for all YouTube work and for all my social and leisure activities. I seldom turn on my laptop at all once I am done with work and I don't see the need for it as the iPad Pro with the Apple pencil Gen 2 is that good.
Now, the Pro line-up is always the top tier of apple iPads and they do get insanely faster processors which include additional RAM and extra CPU/GPU cores compared to the other A class processors present in non-pro iPads and iOS devices. But Apple did something totally unexpected last year by launching the iPad Air 4 just a few months after the iPad Pro 2020 launched.
Just in a couple of months since the iPad Pro launched, they added an insane 5 nanometre chipset in the iPad Air 4 in the form of a14 Bionic and because of the way it is engineered, it totally beat the iPad Pro in pretty much every speed test and comparison point!
Now, Apple cannot have this for long. They cant make their own top of the line product look bad when compared to their own mid tier product. So that's why, more than ever, I strongly think that we will get a new iPad Pro this year, that too in March to be precise.
And based on the leaks which we are already seeing, this could be a reality very soon.
So let me sum up everything that has leaked until now about the upcoming iPad Pro 2021.
First is Blue colour. Of course, last year, thankfully, it was a decent shade for the colour palette which became the signature colour of the year, and that is blue, unlike a strange green shade from 2019. And the iPad Pro getting this cooler blue shade is totally welcome! Apple really gets their colours to point and I am super exited to see how that looks in person. I seriously hope that we get a Product RED shade as well supporting the COVID cause as we still are back to square one at the moment with the Coronavirus situation.
Next is the processor. There were rumours that the M1 processor which was in the recent Macbooks might make its way to the iPad Pro’s, the full 8 core GPU version. This will be soo cool as we how what kind of a serious performer that processor is. Personally I feel we will get a super efficient chip similar to the M1 processor, but think apple will still stick with the “A” numbering format. Don’t think they would want to mix up their laptop and iPad like up so it will most likely be the A14Z chip, with possibly a bigger RAM at 8GB. This seriously would push the iPad Pro straight back to the top without an iota of doubt!
Then the biggest talked about point. We have been hearing this for the past year and it is Mini LED display. See, iPads still use standard LED displays even though all the iPhone models have switched to OLEDs. And despite the iPad screen looks amazing, thanks to brilliant colour calibration by Apple, LED is still an older technology and OLED displays do provide more colour accuracy and efficiency. Now OLEDs are expensive to manufacture for bigger devices which means adding that to the iPads might increase their cost. So the solution is this new MiniLED technology. Without dwelling into the science behind it, for us consumers, MiniLEDs provide better colour contrasts with deeper blacks and higher colour saturation similar to OLEDs. They also are supper efficient, meaning, they will draw less battery. So, everyone from Sony to Samsung are racing to be the first to mass produce MiniLEDs. Lets see if Apple gets there first and if they do, then we could some amazing battery claims from the new iPad Pros.
Next is another interesting leak which suggests there might be another connector added to the iPad Pro and this time, it will be MagSafe. You know the same strong magnet clicky thing from the iPhone 12 series. The iPad Pro already has the USB type c port along with 2 magnetic connectors, one for the Apple Pencil on the side and then other for the smart keyboard at the back. Not sure if adding a third type would be ideal but this is definitely an interesting topic and I will keep my eyes pealed for further leaks on this!
Next is 5G, so yes, we will get 5G connectivity option for those interested in buying the cellular version of the iPad Pro.
And then, about authentication, given the current COVID situation, we might been seeing dual authentication options on Apple devices with FaceID systems. And the iPad Pro 2021 might be the first one to kick start this tend on Apple products. So, we might see both FaceID as well as power button TouchID authentication methods on the new iPad Pro 2021.
Rest of the things are going to stay similar. Same design, size sizes at 11 inch and 12.9 inches and the same dual lens camera setup along with LIDAR scanner.
The main things which the iPad Pro 2021 is going to bring to the table are power and efficiency. Same as what Apple did with the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the design and form factor did not change much from the standard MacBooks but the efficiency and battery life went through the roof and I think those points are enough to push the iPad Pros back to that numero-uno spot. It will secure its position once again for Pro users who need insane graphical capabilities along with a super accurate screen and amazing battery life.
