There’s a good chance we’ll hear about an iPad announcement of sorts soon, and it mightn’t be the only thing.
It’s been about a year since Apple launched the 2020 iPad Pro, and while the introduction of the LiDAR camera system may not have been the reason for everyone to upgrade, the updates still made it the best iPad around, and one of the best tablets of the year, hands down.
A year on, we’re expecting something new in the coming weeks, and that mightn’t be all Apple has in the wings for what’s expected to be a March launch, its first of the year.
Is a new iPad Pro on the horizon?
First up, the rumours are looking strong for a new iPad Pro model in the coming weeks, which is certainly sound given it’s almost been a year since the 2020 iPad Pro was announced.
If Apple ends up with a March 23 Tuesday announcement, it will have been just marginally over a year, but who’s counting.
We’re not quite sure how Apple would improve things, given the iPad Pro design language is now spot on with the iPhone 12 range, and the cameras are pretty much high-end, too. However, with the new Apple Silicon hardware on the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro, not to mention the new chip on last year’s iPad Air, we’d hazard a guess that the 2021 iPad Pro will have a new chip based on the M1, too, or the research from it.
That means you can expect more speed from the 2021 iPad Pro, and possible something else, too.
Our guess is it might come from the screen, because with Mini-LED technology coming to TVs and monitors this year, we’d be rather curious if Apple made the iPad Pro the first of its Mini-LED devices.
Plus, with support for 5G on its iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, you can largely expect the new iPad Pro to go all in for those fifth-generation mobile networks in whatever gets announced next.
What about new AirPods?
Rumours are also swelling for a new pair of AirPods, after some allegedly leaked images were shared to MacRumours showing a new pair of AirPods Pro-styled earphones, but missing the noise cancellation. Granted, we’ve also heard that while it could echo that style — with silicone tips — there’s also the strong possibility Apple will stick with the AirPod earbud style, as there are a lot of people who don’t like tips, and prefer earbuds. Apple is one of the last companies doing an earbud style earphone, and one that offers as much quality as Apple.
Keep in mind that we’re coming up to a two years on from the second model of the AirPods, which saw an update on March 21 in 2019, with the AirPods Pro following later in that year.
Two years on is about normal for headphone refreshes, so if Apple is working on a successor, a late-March announcement and April release would be on time with when we last reviewed the AirPods in back 2019.
When will they launch?
With a week to go before that year anniversary on the 2020 iPad Pro announcement, our guess is that we’ll hear about the new tablet and maybe those AirPods next week, and we’re not the only ones who think that.
23
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) March 8, 2021
At least one tech journo, Jon Prosser, has suggested March 23 as the likely time to see these, and we wouldn’t be surprised if countless others came to the same conclusion looking solely at the dates and typical refresh cycles.
And with that being next week, well, let’s just say we wouldn’t be shocked if an invite went out this week.
