Rumors about Apple’s next-gen flagship iPad, likely to be called iPad Pro 3, have been circulating for months. Many expected Apple to unveil the tablet at the WWDC event earlier this month, but that didn’t happen. The rumor mill claims the iPad Pro 3 will borrow many features from the iPhone X such as the Face ID technology and no physical home button. Based on recent rumors, noted designer Álvaro Pabesio has come up with an incredibly cool iPad Pro 3 concept that’s arguably the best we have seen so far.
We’d want to see this iPad Pro 3 concept in real
One of the first things you’ll notice in this render is the super slim bezels all around. The rumor mill has reported previously that its form factor will be similar to the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. But Pabesio has imagined the device with an 11.9-inch display. It’s possible to pack an 11.9-inch screen in the form factor of a 10.5-inch iPad Pro, thanks to the bezel-less design and the lack of a physical home button.
The concept tablet has rounded display corners similar to the iPhone X. The Touch ID fingerprint reader has been replaced by the Face ID technology. Pabesio says the render features the second-gen TrueDepth camera that offers greater range, horizontal recognition, and support for up to four different faces. It means you can set it up to let your spouse and kids unlock the tablet with their faces. Users will appreciate the support for unlocking the device in both portrait and landscape orientations.
Fortunately, there is no display notch as the TrueDepth camera system has been placed in the top bezel. On the back panel, the iPad Pro 3 concept sports dual 12-megapixel cameras that bring Portrait mode to iPads for the first time. It also offers 2x optical zoom, up to 10x digital zoom, and support for augmented reality. The rear panel appears to be made out of the glass to facilitate wireless charging.
The iPad Pro 3 concept also gets some iOS enhancements that are not part of the iOS 12, such as Stacks. It brings floating iPhone apps to the new iPad Pro 3 through Continuity. The designer says it is powered by the 64-bit A12 chipset, which would also power the next-gen iPhones.
Rumored iPad Pro 3 specs
Overall, Pabesio’s iPad Pro 3 concept looks sleek, power-packed, and useful. Only time will tell what the real-life iPad Pro 3 would look like. According to Bloomberg, the 2018 flagship iPad Pro will continue to use the LCD screen because suppliers don’t yet have the capacity to meet Apple’s massive demands.
Face ID in iPad Pro 3 looks like a real possibility. Apple is said to be investing about $800 million in LG Innotek to secure a reliable supply of 3D depth-sensing modules for the upcoming iPhones and iPads. Contrary to what Alvaro Pabesio imagined, the iPad Pro 3 is unlikely to run the A12 chipset. It could feature an octa-core ‘A11X Bionic’ processor that will be an improvement over the iPhone X’s A11 Bionic chip.
It is unclear when Apple plans to release the iPad Pro 3. Bloomberg has learned from inside sources that it would arrive “a little more than a year” after the previous iPad Pro. So, we should expect it to debut sometime in September or October. Former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also pointed to a September launch.
