iPad Pro 2 Event Set For April? Another Report Suggests So

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It seems that the tech blog-o-sphere can’t make up its mind about when or even if Apple will hold an iPad Pro 2 event this spring. Generally, the company plans a spring event for late March, but it hasn’t sent invitations for anything yet. One person suggested an April 4 date based on nothing other than the in-store pickup availability date for the current iPad Pro models, which tends to float around and thus isn’t usually a good indicator of when an upcoming event might be.

However, now we have another report that the iPad Pro 2 could be held in April, and this time, it supposedly comes from supply chain sources.

Is the iPad Pro 2 event imminent?

DigiTimes reported on Tuesday that Apple is indeed planning an event to show off the all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro at an event being planned for early next month, citing sources within the company’s Taiwan-based supply chain. The website added that the event will be held at the company’s new Apple Park headquarters to inaugurate the new offices.

Both of these bits of information are interesting because they seem to corroborate the conclusion jumped to by Apple World Today earlier this month. The website suggested April 4 as the date because that was the date given for availability of the iPad Pro in Apple Stores. This is a date that generally floats, however, and it was pushed back by one day the day after Apple World Today suggested April 4 as the event date.

How likely is this report?

A couple of things should be noted regarding this report from DigiTimes. One is that the website has a mixed track record when it comes to Apple rumors. Sometimes they’re right on the nose, and other times they’re dead wrong.

Further, the auditorium and the new Apple Park headquarters supposedly won’t be ready until “later this year,” even though some employees are expected to start moving into their new offices in early April. On the other hand, “later this year” could mean only a month from now, although most would think much later. So if Apple is really planning to open the new auditorium early next month, it would be a bit of a surprise.

What about that March date we’ve heard about?

Between the April 4 event date suggestion and Tuesday’s report from DigiTimes, we heard that Apple might even be planning an event for early next week, which would mean that the company would be giving the media very short notice. It usually sends out invitations about 10 to 12 days in advance, but we’re already past that window. The report also suggested that the spring “event” would only be a press release and not some sort of big to-do.

However, if Apple is planning just a press release and not an event, it would seem unlikely that the new iPad Pro 2 would make an appearance. When the company used a press release for a spring product announcement in past years, it was just to reveal basic updates to an already-released iPad model. There wasn’t an all-new product like a 10.5-inch iPad Pro would be.

iPad Pro 2 production said to be moved up

DigiTimes also reported on Tuesday that Apple has moved up production for the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro 2 to March rather than the May to June window that was previously expected. The website’s supply chain sources reportedly said that early shipments of the new iPad will probably be just 1 million in March and then ramp to 1.2 million “a month from the second quarter.”

The iPad Pro 2 (assuming this 10.5-inch model is tagged with this name) will target the business and education sectors, according to the suppliers. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro and its 10.5-inch sibling are expected to be the company’s mid-tier to high-end flagship tablets this year. However, DigiTimes’ sources also said production for the 12.9-inch model might not reach volume levels until between May and June.

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