iPad Pro iPad Pro with 5G & A14X chip coming in fall 2020 (If not delayed)

[tfuentes3]

So Jon Prosser, from FPT, reports that a 5G-only version of the iPad Pro will be available at the end of the year. Note that the wifi-only version won't be upgraded... Also, the micro-LED version of the Pro will be launching by 2021... What do you think?

Stay safe everybody!

 

[rui no onna]

Seems like Apple might be keeping the A12Z Wi-Fi and LTE Pros and releasing A14X + 5G at extra premium pricing so that would be a no. They're already more expensive than I'd like.

 

[EugW]

Seems like Apple might be keeping the A12Z Wi-Fi and LTE Pros and releasing A14X + 5G at extra premium pricing so that would be a no. They're already more expensive than I'd like.

Hmm... I was thinking they might discontinue the LTE Pros and substitute the A14X/5G models in their place. However my main concern is I'd expect they wouldn't be released until October. That's 7 months from now.

 

[Astonish_IT]

but would a 5G architecture be that different than a non carriere mainboard so that they would use that R&D (A14X chips) only for the 5G models and leave the non carrier versions with A12Z for an other 180 days? I understand that they may ask for a premium for thhe 5G high spec iPad Pro, because they can, but again, that would make many non carrier iPad pro buyers angry.

 

[ian87w]

Seems like Apple might be keeping the A12Z Wi-Fi and LTE Pros and releasing A14X + 5G at extra premium pricing so that would be a no. They're already more expensive than I'd like.

I have a feeling this will be the case. Make a 5G version is a "Pro Ultra" version, and to lessen the blow of the new price point, release a refreshed version (the current new Pro) now.

 

[rui no onna]

Hmm... I was thinking they might discontinue the LTE Pros and substitute the A14X/5G models in their place. However my main concern is I'd expect they wouldn't be released until October. That's 7 months from now.

I doubt $150 is enough of a price premium for Apple considering this appears to be the "real" upgrade. I reckon they're doing 5G-only both as a way to justify higher prices and to reduce the number of SKUs for the expectedly smaller market.

If this is the same 12.9-inch model rumored to have Mini LED, then we'd have three high end tiers. Quite possibly:

Pro 11-inch A12Z $799 Wi-Fi/$849 LTE

Pro 12.9-inch A12Z $999 Wi-Fi/$1149 LTE

Pro Max 12.9-inch A14X $1499 5G

 

[fokmik]

it was clear that an mini-led 5G A14X was coming

 

[GIBBI]

I don't think that there will be another iPad Pro release this year. That wouldn't be very customer friendly.

Otherwise, we had it before when the iPad 3 was released there was an iPad 4 half of a year later, which didn't amuse me, because I bought the iPad 3.

Well, lets hope it won't be the same way this time, because I bought the iPad Pro 2020.

 

[The Game 161]

Remember this new ipad was suppose to be out last October and it arrived in march….i would expect it in 2021 and not this year

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

Remember this new ipad was suppose to be out last October and it arrived in march….i would expect it in 2021 and not this year

there is nothing to say it was ever a Oct release. 18 months ish is roughly there cycle

 

[The Game 161]

there is nothing to say it was ever a Oct release. 18 months ish is roughly there cycle

There were plenty of rumours for October and it kept moving. It was then said end of 2919...so basically it’s the same as the rumours for the next iPad Pro being out for end of 2020...so it’s no different

 

[AJB1971]

Whilst I am convinced that Apple are, or were, planning to release another Pro in 2020, I’m less convinced about the other details.

He says that they are planning to release a 5G iPad Pro towards the end of this year with the A14X chip and no other changes. Existing Wi-Fi and 4G Pros will remain unchanged. Mini-LED displays are not planned until 2021 when the whole of the Pro line will get refreshed.

Let’s say the 5G A14X Pro arrives on schedule, in November this year. The pace of development may be slowing, but the A14X is likely to offer a significant performance advantage over what would by then be a two-year-old A12X - we already know that the A12Z is not significantly different from the A12X. SoC wise, Apple would effectively be splitting the Pro line for a period of time, but for how long?

I can’t see them introducing a new mini-LED 5G Pro a few months after the launch of the original 5G version, so that suggests the mini-LED Pros will be released in late 2021. If that is the case, Apple are likely to be selling Pro models equipped with either the A12X or A12Z processor for approximately three years (I wonder if A12Y was effectively the 6GB ram processor used in the 1TB 2018 models).

They would also be selling them alongside a model with far better performance, which must have some impact on sales. Perhaps Apple consider that by then sales would have dropped off anyway because the Pros tend to appeal to a niche market and a lot of those will have already upgraded. Maybe they think that people will be persuaded to upgrade to the new model just for the A14X.

The 2021 models will almost certainly use the A14X, or a variant of it - A14Z? I can’t see Apple investing the money in a new processor and restricting its use to just 5G models, and I can’t see them introducing a version based on the A15 SoC given what has happened in the past.

 

[AutomaticApple]

So Jon Prosser, from FPT, reports that a 5G-only version of the iPad Pro will be available at the end of the year. Note that the wifi-only version won't be upgraded... Also, the micro-LED version of the Pro will be launching by 2021... What do you think?

Stay safe everybody!


View attachment 900007

Is he a reliable leaker?

 

[The Game 161]

Is he a reliable leaker?

Yeah he was correct about leaks this week

 

[ericwn]

There were plenty of rumours for October and it kept moving. It was then said end of 2919...so basically it’s the same as the rumours for the next iPad Pro being out for end of 2020...so it’s no different

It shows us the accuracy of the guesswork rumor business at least.

 

[EugW]

There were plenty of rumours for October and it kept moving. It was then said end of 2919...so basically it’s the same as the rumours for the next iPad Pro being out for end of 2020...so it’s no different

For the iPad Pro, right from the beginning Ming-Chi Kuo specifically stated iPad Pro mass production in 2019 Q4 to 2020 Q1. I’d say he was accurate on that, considering it’s still 2020 Q1 and actual retail units are coming next week. It takes several months from the beginning of mass production to products hitting shelves.

Here’s his prediction from May 2019:

Kuo: 2019 iPhones and New iPad Pro Models in Late 2019 to Early 2020 to Adopt New Antenna Technology

Apple plans to use modified-PI (MPI) material for most antennas in 2019 iPhones, rather than the liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material used for the...

www.macrumors.com

Kuo said two new iPad Pro models with the same 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes as the current models will enter mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020.