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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,987
20,169
UK
No doubt a lot more is planned for the iPad Pro just got to wait I would say another year or two. I do think pro apps are coming but who knows when
 

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
With all the recent rumours floating I think the Pro’s are going to have higher quality materials in comparison to their lower priced alternatives, I can definitely see glass backs and possibly SS or Titanium edges coming in 2022, on top of this I think the Pro series is definitely going to landscape focused.

The above changes make perfect sense to me for a few reasons:

1. The iPad Air and iPad Pro 11” seem to constantly have this issue of whether the iPad Pro 11” is worth it when the iPad Air exists (as they basically have similar capability), I think if the Air was portrait focused and using aluminium vs the Pro being landscape focused and using higher quality materials makes the iPad Pro 11” a more attractive option for consumers deciding between the 2.

2. The more recent software updates such as the Apple logo loading in whichever orientation you have the iPad in is quite a big indicator that Apple are looking at landscape focused iPads.

3. Centre Stage being released seems to be a sort of plaster fix for the fact the cameras make you look odd on FaceTime etc… but this is still going to come in handy for the mini and Air and base iPad going forward so the development of this won’t be wasted.
 

kristalsoldier

macrumors 6502a
Aug 10, 2013
818
523
With all the recent rumours floating I think the Pro’s are going to have higher quality materials in comparison to their lower priced alternatives, I can definitely see glass backs and possibly SS or Titanium edges coming in 2022, on top of this I think the Pro series is definitely going to landscape focused.

The above changes make perfect sense to me for a few reasons:

1. The iPad Air and iPad Pro 11” seem to constantly have this issue of whether the iPad Pro 11” is worth it when the iPad Air exists (as they basically have similar capability), I think if the Air was portrait focused and using aluminium vs the Pro being landscape focused and using higher quality materials makes the iPad Pro 11” a more attractive option for consumers deciding between the 2.

2. The more recent software updates such as the Apple logo loading in whichever orientation you have the iPad in is quite a big indicator that Apple are looking at landscape focused iPads.

3. Centre Stage being released seems to be a sort of plaster fix for the fact the cameras make you look odd on FaceTime etc… but this is still going to come in handy for the mini and Air and base iPad going forward so the development of this won’t be wasted.
Glass back on an iPad is a disaster in the making. Though you may very well be right about that.
 
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Falhófnir

macrumors 603
Aug 19, 2017
6,146
7,001
Glass back on an iPad is a disaster in the making. Though you may very well be right about that.
A SS and glass 12.9" will be damn heavy, not good for those of us who actually like to use it as a tablet and not just propped on a keyboard case all the time :confused: If they want to enable wireless charging, they don't need a whole glass back, just a small glass panel, maybe a circular one bearing the Apple logo in the middle.
 

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
A SS and glass 12.9" will be damn heavy, not good for those of us who actually like to use it as a tablet and not just propped on a keyboard case all the time :confused: If they want to enable wireless charging, they don't need a whole glass back, just a small glass panel, maybe a circular one bearing the Apple logo in the middle.
Yeah I think this is the reason why Apple is looking at using Titanium in upcoming iPhones and iPads as rumoured rather than SS.

Also quite a large amount of iPad Pro 12.9” users generally have their iPads in the Magic Keyboard case the majority of the time which makes it heavy already, so Apple won’t be scared of the 12.9” becoming ‘too heavy’ as I think they have already proven that by making the 12.9” thicker this year.

I think it’s a good move as glass backs will allow apple to manufacturer larger iPad models in the future without fear of another ‘bend gate’… plus the iPad Pro will look and feel far more premium.

The problem at the moment is the iPad Air and the iPad Pro 11” feel about the same in terms of which is the more premium model.

I would not be surprised if in the future we will have the line up something along the lines of…

iPad Air 11”
iPad Air 12.9”
iPad Pro 11”
iPad Pro 12.9”

The air line will obviously have less features and be more light weight, whereas the Pro line will have a more premium finish and have all the extra bells and whistles.
 

1BadManVan

macrumors 68040
Dec 20, 2009
3,285
3,446
Bc Canada
Yeah I think this is the reason why Apple is looking at using Titanium in upcoming iPhones and iPads as rumoured rather than SS.

Also quite a large amount of iPad Pro 12.9” users generally have their iPads in the Magic Keyboard case the majority of the time which makes it heavy already, so Apple won’t be scared of the 12.9” becoming ‘too heavy’ as I think they have already proven that by making the 12.9” thicker this year.

I think it’s a good move as glass backs will allow apple to manufacturer larger iPad models in the future without fear of another ‘bend gate’… plus the iPad Pro will look and feel far more premium.

The problem at the moment is the iPad Air and the iPad Pro 11” feel about the same in terms of which is the more premium model.

I would not be surprised if in the future we will have the line up something along the lines of…

iPad Air 11”
iPad Air 12.9”
iPad Pro 11”
iPad Pro 12.9”

The air line will obviously have less features and be more light weight, whereas the Pro line will have a more premium finish and have all the extra bells and whistles.
I seriously doubt they would ever make a 12.9 air. By that price range they would have to charge, everyone would just choose the pro. 12.9 is already a limited niche market as it is
 
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Falhófnir

macrumors 603
Aug 19, 2017
6,146
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Yeah I think this is the reason why Apple is looking at using Titanium in upcoming iPhones and iPads as rumoured rather than SS.

Also quite a large amount of iPad Pro 12.9” users generally have their iPads in the Magic Keyboard case the majority of the time which makes it heavy already, so Apple won’t be scared of the 12.9” becoming ‘too heavy’ as I think they have already proven that by making the 12.9” thicker this year.

I think it’s a good move as glass backs will allow apple to manufacturer larger iPad models in the future without fear of another ‘bend gate’… plus the iPad Pro will look and feel far more premium.

The problem at the moment is the iPad Air and the iPad Pro 11” feel about the same in terms of which is the more premium model.

I would not be surprised if in the future we will have the line up something along the lines of…

iPad Air 11”
iPad Air 12.9”
iPad Pro 11”
iPad Pro 12.9”

The air line will obviously have less features and be more light weight, whereas the Pro line will have a more premium finish and have all the extra bells and whistles.
There was a recent rumour of an even bigger landscape oriented iPad (i.e. Apple logo 'sideways' to how it is on current iPads and FaceID on the longer side) which would be primarily targeted at docked use in a keyboard case, if that's what succeeds the current 12.9" then I would agree that's the way they're taking the Pro line. As things stand, though, the 12.9 is still perfectly usable for a tablet first use case. Particularly the current smaller design. The 2021 is a negligible size/ weight increase.

If that were to be for example a 14", and they replaced the 11" with a 12" (which would be about the same footprint as an iPad 2, so not gigantic) I could see the Air inheriting the full 11" Pro chassis and the current 10.9" Air design being handed down to the entry iPad. I don't think we will see a 12.9" Air, so if Apple does go down the laptop alternative route with the Pros I guess I just have to hope it doesn't ruin the tablet user experience. I'd probably be happy to go with a 12.0" Pro in the future if the smaller size negates some of the weight gain, again, provided it actually is still a good tablet experience.
 

pdoherty

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2014
1,491
1,736
Glass back on an iPad is a disaster in the making. Though you may very well be right about that.
I don’t want that, much less to pay for it. It’s pointless since as soon as I get an iPad I slap it into a keyboard case so you’d never see it. But I’d still be paying the fragility price and the lugging-around-excess-weight cost.
 
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pdoherty

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2014
1,491
1,736
Yeah I think this is the reason why Apple is looking at using Titanium in upcoming iPhones and iPads as rumoured rather than SS.

Also quite a large amount of iPad Pro 12.9” users generally have their iPads in the Magic Keyboard case the majority of the time which makes it heavy already, so Apple won’t be scared of the 12.9” becoming ‘too heavy’ as I think they have already proven that by making the 12.9” thicker this year.

I think it’s a good move as glass backs will allow apple to manufacturer larger iPad models in the future without fear of another ‘bend gate’… plus the iPad Pro will look and feel far more premium.

The problem at the moment is the iPad Air and the iPad Pro 11” feel about the same in terms of which is the more premium model.

I would not be surprised if in the future we will have the line up something along the lines of…

iPad Air 11”
iPad Air 12.9”
iPad Pro 11”
iPad Pro 12.9”

The air line will obviously have less features and be more light weight, whereas the Pro line will have a more premium finish and have all the extra bells and whistles.
How does a glass back help alleviate bending? Thicker case, yes, but I don’t see how adding glass helps this. Might just be creating a “break gate”.
 

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
How does a glass back help alleviate bending? Thicker case, yes, but I don’t see how adding glass helps this. Might just be creating a “break gate”.
Have you seen the bending videos for the iPhone 12’s??? The reason they are near impossible to bend is because of a combination of the stainless steel and glass.

If the iPad had a titanium or ss band with glass either side I don’t expect much different of a result.

Every iPhone with an all aluminium back has bent extremely easily as soon as the 8 and X was launched they got a lot more durable in regards to bending but weren’t impossible to bend due to the curved edges, then with the 12 it was near impossible to bend due to the flat edge design making the whole device extremely rigid and solid.
 
Last edited:

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
I seriously doubt they would ever make a 12.9 air. By that price range they would have to charge, everyone would just choose the pro. 12.9 is already a limited niche market as it is
There is a rumour that the iPhone 14 will have a max size in both the pro and standard line up and do away with the mini, I think it’s quite possible it would happen if and that is IF apple decide to go with the more weighty glass backed design for the iPad Pro

What we do know is the iPad Pro 11” is going to have an increase in price to at least $899 when the miniLED is added same as the 12.9” went from $999 to $1099 when it was added to that model.

So when they launch we will have:

iPad - $329
iPad mini - $499
iPad Air - $599 (likely will increase soon to $699)
iPad Pro 11 - $899
iPad Pro 12.9 - $1099

I think there is a good pricing space for a larger Air quite possibly the same price as the 11” Pro at $899, and for that price I can imagine a 12.9” iPad Air with Touch ID a standard LCD display, an all aluminium back with a semi decent camera etc would be snapped up for $899 (which is $100 less than what the old 12.9 Pro used to be), but I also think at that same price the 11” pro with all the extra bells and whistles would also do really well IMO.
 
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trip1ex

macrumors 68040
Jan 10, 2008
3,233
1,900
I gave up and just got an M1 Mini instead of dreaming of a "docked" iPad Pro.


Then got an iPad Air. Haven't opened it. I guess I can open it out and still return if it isn't for me. I might only need the cheapest iPad or bigger phone since I have a fast "dock" now.
 

James Godfrey

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2011
2,068
1,710
There was a recent rumour of an even bigger landscape oriented iPad (i.e. Apple logo 'sideways' to how it is on current iPads and FaceID on the longer side) which would be primarily targeted at docked use in a keyboard case, if that's what succeeds the current 12.9" then I would agree that's the way they're taking the Pro line. As things stand, though, the 12.9 is still perfectly usable for a tablet first use case. Particularly the current smaller design. The 2021 is a negligible size/ weight increase.

If that were to be for example a 14", and they replaced the 11" with a 12" (which would be about the same footprint as an iPad 2, so not gigantic) I could see the Air inheriting the full 11" Pro chassis and the current 10.9" Air design being handed down to the entry iPad. I don't think we will see a 12.9" Air, so if Apple does go down the laptop alternative route with the Pros I guess I just have to hope it doesn't ruin the tablet user experience. I'd probably be happy to go with a 12.0" Pro in the future if the smaller size negates some of the weight gain, again, provided it actually is still a good tablet experience.
I don’t think we will see anything larger than the 12.9” for many years even Gurman stated ‘Apple is exploring future iPads with larger displays, although he added that a potential release is likely at least a few years away if ever’ but he seems quite set on the glass back coming to the iPad Pro line up.

I think if Apple really wanted the iPad to be a laptop they would have done more than they have done with the OS so far, it will never be a laptop replacement only a possible alternative for some consumers, and I don’t think Apple want it to be a full laptop replacement because they also sell laptops themselves.
 
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Rafterman

Contributor
Apr 23, 2010
7,267
8,809
While people love putting their iPads into keyboard cases to use them as laptops (I myself have a magic keyboard), in the end, we have to remember the primary purpose of th iPad is to hold it. So I don't expect Apple to make them too big or heavy.
 

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Well, the 2021 iPad Pro has been released to the wild and has been out for a month or so. It has the new M1 chip, mini led, up to 16gb ram and 2 tb storage. So where does Apple go from here? I can't use the available ram and probably will never be able to use a tb of storage or more without better apps or at least apps that can use more ram. WWDC 2021 made it clear that this wasn't even being considered and hasn't been since they made these things avail in the 2020 iPad Pro.

So what could the future possibly hold for iPad Pro. I don't think apple really wants to make this a competitor for their own hardware like MacBooks or iMacs so they will probably continue to throttle the chips and ram. Doubt they would ever go to oled screens or smaller micro led's in my lifetime at least.

Did apple just paint themselves into a corner with this iPad. Perhaps it might be a good reason to top off the ram in this purchase since this may be the iPad that you will have for the next 5 years or more. Can't imagine what would make me upgrade in the future that apple could build into this device.

What are your thoughts?
15” iPad PRO
 

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
I think the apps are coming from third parties. For instance, I know that Capture One is coming to the Ipad pro shortly. They just created the M1 Mac version. So, I wonder if Apple is making it a little easier to convert your Mac Apps to M1 IPad apps because extensions, ect are already there. I'm excited to see Capture One coming to IPad.

I am glad tho I didn't get the 1tb, 16gig version. I really struggled back and forth between 512 & 1TB but just couldn't cough up another $400! Besides the 512 version went from 6gig to 8gig of memory, which is a 25% increase in memory. I'll be ok with that.

Anyway, relax enjoy that screen and apps are coming.
I went all in,have had many iPads, this iPad at 73 s/b my last.
 

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Perhaps they should start calling iPhone Pro, Mac Pro, iPad Pro - as "Premium" to not confuse things with their "Pro" software applications....

To 90% of iPad and iPad Air users - yes. The kind of person who is buying and iPad Pro is going to have a higher standard of what a "computer" can do.
Well said, and me at 73, totally true, I LOVE I PAD PRO’S!!
 
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