Dec 23, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
Mar 16, 2017 06:17 AM EDT
Apple iPad Pro series fans are holding out hope for a big upgrade for any potential 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2 model, but it seems like they might want to brace for disappointment. The latest rumors coming through the supply chain is suggesting that it'll be, at best, only an incremental upgrade.
According to Macotakara , the smaller iPad Pro model, that is a 9.7-inch variant, could be merely getting an internal chip upgrade, putting an A10X chip in to boost GPU and CPU performance over the current A9X chip. Major updates in the iPad line could be reserved for a revised 12.9-inch model and an all-new 10.5-inch option. However, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2 might remain exactly the same as present.
The reason for this is simple, as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro edition becomes the budget, entry option, to the iPad Pro line, with the larger models becoming the more premium, and feature-rich devices to indulge cash on. It might allow Apple to make use of any existing manufacturing processes it uses in the 9.7-inch construction, also continuing to shift correspondingly-sized keyboards and existing Apple Pencils.
Apple analyst KGI has also spoken about a new lower-cost 9.7 inch iPad. An analytics firm has found references to four new iPad identifiers, suggesting that the products are about a month away from official release.
As per the Japanese blog, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2 will be featuring an A10X chip to boast better CPU and graphics performance. This would be following the trend of Apple releasing iPads with an 'X' version of the iPhone chip; as the iPhone 7 includes an A10 Fusion chip and therefore it follows that the new iPads would include an A10X. The previous generation, Apple released the iPhone 6s with an A9 SoC followed by the iPad Pro with an A9X, as per 9to5 Mac.
As the 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2 will be a smaller-scale hardware announcement, so it would also be perfectly suited to announce via an Apple press release which will be potentially sometime next week. Rather than requiring the ceremony of a full Apple event, which is expected but is yet to be announced, press release make sense.
