In Apple world, the Next Big Thing is never too far away, and if rumours are to be believed, right now that ‘thing’ could be a new iPad Pro.
It’s been almost a year since the last update to Apple’s flagship tablet, so a refresh would certainly make sense, particularly when you consider that its A12Z Bionic chip has since been superseded by the A14 Bionic model that sits inside the latest iPad Air (and the iPhone 12, for that matter).
The word on the digital street, though, is that the new iPad Pro’s closest competitors in the power stakes might not be other iOS devices, but Apple’s new M1 Macs.
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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a respected tech sage who’s got a good track record when it comes to making Apple-related predictions, claims that the new iPad Pro will have a processor that’s on a par with the M1, so could well offer a similar level of performance (that is to say: very good).
This leads us to suspect that the launch of the new iPad Pro could coincide with the announcement of some equally high-performance Apple apps - Logic Pro, for example. It’s been almost a year since respected tech analyst Jon Prosser said that he was “100% confident” that Logic Pro for iPad Pro was in the works, and launching it alongside a new version of the tablet would make total sense.
The design of the new iPad Pro might not change too much - though an LED screen on the larger 12.9-inch model could make it a little thicker - though 5G support and improved cameras are being touted.
Mark Gurman also suggests that 2021 could bring redesigned MacBook Pros - possibly without the Touch Bar and powered by the rumoured M1X chip - and, later in the year, a redesigned MacBook Air. The iMac could also be set for a pretty major revamp, as could the Mac Pro.
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