A new report says the rumored ‘iPad Pro’ will offer Force Touch, a Bluetooth stylus and a USB-C connector
With a possible release date sometime later this year, we’re starting to hear even more information about the long-rumored “iPad Pro.”
According to a new report from AppleInsider, the 12.9-inch tablet will offer a number of new features including Force Touch technology, a Bluetooth stylus with pressure sensitivity, NFC support, and a USB-C connector.
The NFC support would possibly bring another interesting use case for the device. Instead of being used like an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to make contactless Apple Pay purchases, the tablet could be a receiving terminal for payments. That could be a big plus for smaller businesses looking to add support for the mobile payment system.
And while we’ve heard about the possible inclusion of an Apple-designed stylus with the tablet before, the site’s source says that it would connect to the tablet via Bluetooth and offer pressure-sensitive input. The tablet screen itself will also offer the same Force Touch technology currently found on the Apple Watch and rumored to appear in the next-generation iPhones.
Interestingly, the site says that the tablet will indeed ship with a USB-C connector. First making an appearance on the new MacBook, it could allow consumers to use other USB-based accessories with the iPad. It’s unknown whether Apple will include a Lightning port on the tablet as well, but a leak in late March showed ports in the vertical and landscape orientation.
Even though iPhone sales continue to go through the roof, the iPad line has been suffering from a recent sales decline. Last week, I offered four ways that Apple could kick-start iPad sales, including releasing the “iPad Pro.” And the rumored tablet is shaping up to be a game changer.
For other news today, see: Crush those creepy crawlers in Spider Smash HD, Celebrate ‘Star Wars Day’ with these iTunes titles and learn about the new characters in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ and Does Apple want to see the end of free music streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube?
Image of the “iPad Pro” mockup via MacRumors
