Apple’s long-awaited 'iPad Pro' could be announced at next week’s event
Apple has apparently picked a huge venue for next week’s special event – the 7,000-seat Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco – for a good reason. A new report from 9to5Mac says that Apple is indeed planning to unveil the long-awaited “iPad Pro” at the event.
Here’s more from the report:
The “iPad Pro” (which is actually the planned name of the device) is currently scheduled to hit retail outlets in November, following a pre-order campaign that will launch toward the end of October, sources indicate. While whispers within Apple point to the MacBook-sized tablet making its debut on next week’s stage, it is possible that Apple could still hold back the larger iPad for an early October event given the currently planned November ship date. Following recent announcements of Apple iOS enterprise collaborations with Cisco and IBM, sufficient component availability to meet anticipated year-end demand appears to be the only question mark at this point.
So if you’ve lost count, here’s what is expected to be unveiled one week from today on Wednesday, Sept. 9. – the next-generation iPhone models, a completely revamped and upgraded Apple TV, a fourth-generation iPad mini, and the new, larger tablet. If all that holds up, it could very well surpass last year’s huge September event which saw the introduction of the Apple Watch, Apple Pay, and the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
As I suspected last month, that means Apple won’t be unveiling a third-generation iPad Air. The site says that tablet is in development but won’t see the light of day until sometime in 2016.
That also means that Apple won’t have any type of event in October, which bucks the trend started in 2012 with the introduction of the original iPad mini.
By unveiling the “iPad Pro” two months before it hits the market, Apple is more than likely giving time for developers to create apps specifically for the larger tablet, which is expected to feature a 12.9-inch screen. The tablet should also offer Force Touch technology, larger stereo speakers, and other features geared toward users looking for a MacBook replacement.
The “iPad Pro” mockup is courtesy of MacRumors
