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Apple didn’t release a single iPad in 2023, but that’s set to change this year. In fact, a new iPad Pro could debut as early as this month. Ahead of that expected launch, CAD drawings for the iPad Pro lineup have leaked, as reported by MacRumors. With the expected design changes, the iPad Pro is set to change fundamentally for the first time in years. Even the most recent iPad Pro models have a design that resembles the 2018 iPad Pro. That was the the last time Apple radically changed the look and feel of the iPad Pro.
However, the new iPad Pro refresh is expected to pack a few internal upgrades. One of those is an OLED display, which will be an improvement over the current mini-LED panels. Compared to the outgoing mini-LED, the new iPad Pro models will offer more vibrant colors and blacks, just like modern iPhones. Notably, the leaked CAD drawings for the iPad Pro models reveal that this change will affect more than just the display. It’ll also result in the next generation of iPads Pro being thinner, affecting both the smaller and larger models.
The drawings show that the smaller iPad Pro will have a new thickness of 5.1mm, which is down from 5.9mm on the current model. The larger variant is expected to get even thinner. It’ll have a thickness of 5.0mm on the new model, and that’s up from 6.4mm on the current model. Whether this is really necessary on a tablet is up for debate. The current generation of iPads Pro are already impressively thin, and so much so that they can be bent relatively easily. Still, the thinness will help when iPads are used with accessories.
What other changes are coming to iPad Pro?
Aside from the upgraded displays, the iPad Pro lineup is set to get a boost to the M3 chipset. It’s a laptop and desktop-class chip with plenty of performance. Specifically, M3 performs much better than M2 in graphically-intensive tasks. There are also rumors that iPads could get some form of MagSafe with their next update.
However, it isn’t all good. Apple is rumored to increase the price of the iPad Pro lineup significantly. The smaller version could start at $1,500, while the larger version might begin at $1,800. That puts the price of an iPad Pro ahead of not only the best tablets, but even some laptops. This is why Apple has reportedly cut orders for iPad Pro components ahead of the new tablets’ launch.
11-inch 2024 iPad Pro CAD:
13-inch 2024 iPad Pro CAD:
