Really annoying that new features come with price increases. The thing is they cobble these together using currently-available parts each time. The new parts that come out a year or two later don’t typically cost more for them to acquire the the similar parts the last time, so why the continual price increases? Yes, yes I know... because they CAN.It is tough, especially since the new 12.9” is shaping up to be quite a nice upgrade to the current model. Re: timing, the best source is usually Ming Chi Kuo, although it’s no guarantee. His current forecast—it’s slipped about three quarters since the initial prediction he published back in February 2019—is 3Q2020. (Personally I wouldn’t be surprised at October or November, but Kuo says July-Sept.)
There are some sources saying Q1, which Kuo had previously predicted as well, and even he hasn’t been explicitly withdrawn that earlier rumor. But as I mentioned, Kuo’s latest prediction, at least for the 12.9” Pro, is 3Q2020.
Upgrades (Kuo rumor) include mini-LED backlit display, A14X processor and 5G. Many here expect an increase in RAM from 4—>6 GB. Maybe an upgrade from 64—>128 GB for the entry level storage as well; it seems due. Quite possibly a price increase as a result of all the upgrades.
Kuo: 12.9-Inch iPad Pro and 16-Inch MacBook Pro With Mini-LED Displays to Launch in Second Half of 2020
Apple is planning four to six products with mini-LED displays over the next two to three years, including a high-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro with an A14X...www.macrumors.com
More tabs in Safari without forcing reloads. More apps open at once without them being shuffled to SSD due to low memory.
Well, I don’t really think “cobbled together” accurately describes how Apple designs iPad Pro, especially since that design starts with spending likely a billion+ on an “X” variant of the SoC (rumored to be a 5nm A14X part this fall) 🙂
I would be shocked if it’s not upped to 6 GB RAM in 2020. It’s overdue. iPad Pros have been at 4 GB for going on 5 years now.
yeah and if waiting is anything like I had to wait for the MBP 16", was forever! lol.... I just picked up a 12.9 at Best Buy here in the US for a few hundred off...
Excellent price! The current model is a beast.
Yeah 6GB or even more for the most expensive SKUs.
No it doesn't, but my expectation is that once the hardware actually exists, Apple update the OS and apps to utilize more RAM as necessary. That's the whole point of the additional RAM after all.
It seems to me that Apple increases RAM at a very measured pace, and only so far as it’s necessary to support larger requirements mainly by the OS and hardware. But preventing tab reloading seems to be a very low priority for them in any case, at least up to now.
Not microLED (that’s it ready yet, even for the small Watch display) but mini-LED backlighting is predicted by Ming Chi Kuo and others for the upcoming model, at least for the 12.9”.
