If the (many) rumors are true, the next new product from Apple will be an all-new iPad Pro with updated design, OLED screen and a bunch of redesigned accessories. So, when, exactly, can we expect to be able to buy this cornucopia of riches? Here’s everything we know.
March 21 update below. This post was first published on March 19, 2024.
There are currently two iPads Pro in the range, one with an 11-inch display, one with a 12.9-inch screen which, unlike the smaller one, has miniLED backlighting so those videos really pop.
By not revealing anything about any future plans, Apple can change its mind right up until it makes an announcement, so it is hard to pin down the timing just yet.
This has already bamboozled analysts who had predicted that the new tablets would be announced at the beginning of March and on sale by now. Even cautious suggestions, such as from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, said “The iPads and accessories are expected to launch around the end of March.” That looks seriously wide of the mark now. So, Gurman has since updated his predicted timings since, saying, “Look for that new hardware around the end of March or in April,” in his Power On newsletter on March 10, and again in his most recent Power On, last Sunday.
Gurman’s latest suggestion is tied to an updated piece of iPadOS software which is expected to launch with the new iPad Pro models. He believes it’s a version of iOS 17.4, that is, it looks like it will land before iPadOS 17.5, which is expected to appear in developer beta format as soon as this week.
Gurman says, “I’ve repeatedly said that new software for the iPad Pro—a variant of iPadOS 17.4 designed for the updated models—won’t be complete until the end of March or even sometime in April. Once the OS is finished, Apple needs to send it off to the factories to be installed on the new hardware. That process could last a couple weeks, probably taking us deeper into next month.”
This sounds like much safer territory, though I still wouldn’t be surprised if it came later than that, perhaps the very end of April or the first few days in May. Later than that is tricky and Apple’s mind will be focused on WWDC in June.
Another analyst, Ross Young, in comments spotted by MacRumors, said the announcement would be “late March or early April.”
Release Date
I think the iPad Pro will be announced by press release, as was the case for the M3 MacBook Air—it’s been known for months now that Apple wasn’t planning a spring event this year.
The time of day is likely to be 5 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. British Summer Time, if recent precedents are followed. And the date?
My guess, taking all the above into account, is that we’ll hear about the iPad Pro on Monday, April 15 or Monday, April 22 and it will go on sale 11 days later, that is, Friday, April 26 or Friday, May 3. I’ll update this post nearer the time (like other commentators, I reserve the right to change my mind as the evidence changes), so please check back.
March 20 update. A new report gives credence to the idea that the new iPad Pro is almost upon us. Weibo User Instant Digital, in comments picked up by MacRumors, has said that there’s a new screen option coming to the iPad Pro this year. And, crucially, they claim that new iPad models will be announced next week. This tallies with other reports which have claimed that a late March reveal is on the cards.
Personally, I still think that could be early, even though the leaker has clarified that the March 26 date they have in mind is an announcement, not a release date. Instant Digital has a mixed track record, for instance claiming that an iPad Air would be released in October last year, which didn’t happen. On the other hand, they correctly predicted that the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus would have a matte-finish glass back.
The screen claim itself is very interesting, saying that the iPad Pro could be offered with a matte display option, in addition to the glossy finish every iPad display has so far had.
This sounds similar to the nano-texture glass option on the iMac Pro, released in 2020, for instance, which offered a highly attractive display with noticeably reduced reflections. This is a quintessentially pro feature, in Apple’s eyes.
Or it could be something different. As MacRumors points out, nano-texture displays can be harder to clean because they’re not perfectly smooth. Matte finish screens can be brilliant at reducing glare but can also make a screen less bright. How Apple with walk that tightrope will be very interesting.
Well, it may not be long now until we know a lot more.
March 21 update. More opinions rising all the time about when the iPad Pro will land. In the last few hours, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has entered the fray. The March 26 date mentioned above was reported by MacRumors in an article titled, “Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim.”
Now, as you know, I have said above that I thought this was wrong, so it’s gratifying to hear I’m not alone. Gurman’s input came in the form of a post on X, linking to the MacRumors feature and with just two words from the Bloomberg writer: “Not true.”
That’s all he said, so there were no more details to be gleaned. And, predictably, the responses on X were pretty vocal, with many asking, “When, Gurman?” Other publications, such as 9to5Mac, pointed out that the leaker who claimed the date, Instant Digital, had a track record which was “hit-and-miss”.
So, it’s possible that the leaker’s claim that a matte screen option could be offered for the new iPad Pro is correct, even if the date of the announcement is not.
Personally, I’m still sticking to my expectation that the release will be late April or early May rather than the sooner schedule that a March 26 announcement suggests.
So, what might be happening on March 26? Most likely nothing, I’m afraid. However, if you push me to make a suggestion, as you have every right to do, dear reader, then I think it’s possible that Apple could announce the dates for this year’s WWDC. It’s about this time of year, so it would make sense. But I suspect there’s nothing more than that, and certainly no new hardware on the immediate horizon. But you never know…
