New iPad Pro M3: Rumors about the new 11, 12, and 14-inch models
6 min read
The current iPad range is one of the most populated we’ve seen. It includes two iterations of the standard iPad, the iPad mini, the iPad Air, and the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, so there’s plenty to choose from. It seems Apple isn’t stopping there, though; rumors suggest it could be adding an even larger iPad Pro to the line-up. Here’s everything we know about the next-generation iPad Pro, including the rumored 14-inch model.
Updated October 2023: There may be a new aluminum Magic Keyboard launching alongside the M3 iPad Pro.
Is there going to be a 14-inch iPad Pro?
The rumor of a larger-screened iPad started with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman back in June 2021. He wrote that Apple was considering making iPads with larger displays, but not to expect anything for a few years.
Another leaker named Majin Bu has also posted that a new 14.1-inch iPad Pro is in development.
Display analyst Ross Young also claimed in 2022 that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro model was in development, and that “early 2023” was a likely release schedule. It appears that the tweet is no longer on Twitter/X, but initially, he tweeted the following on June 9. 2022.
“Confirmed the 14.1” iPad Pro is being developed with our supply chain sources. It will have MiniLEDs and ProMotion. Not sure of the timing, but early 2023 may be more likely.— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) June 9, 2022
A 2023 release is not expected now. In December 2022 Young was reported to have changed this prediction, suggesting that “Apple is no longer planning to launch a 14.1-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display in early 2023”, via Macrumors. Young went on to claim that Apple is no longer planning to launch the new 14.1-inch form factor, so it may never launch.
With the release of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro on the iPad, it makes a lot of sense for Apple to offer an iPad with a larger screen and external display support.
New iPad Pro release date: When will the M3 iPad Pro arrive?
It looks like there won’t be a new iPad Pro until 2024. Gurman said in January 2023 that there are no major updates coming to the iPad in 2023, and the iPad Pro “for sure isn’t getting anything of note this year.”
Most rumors now tentatively point towards some time in 2024 for a revamped iPad Pro, which could include a new 14-inch model alongside the 11- and 12-inch models, or perhaps the 14-inch model will replace one of the other options.
For some clues as to when Apple could launch the new iPad Pro, we can look at past launches, bearing in mind that Apple has been inconsistent with the launch windows from previous models. Here’s when they made their debuts:
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (6th gen): Oct 2022
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (5th gen): Apr 2021
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (4th gen): Mar 2020
- iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch (3rd gen): Oct 2018
- iPad Pro 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch (2nd gen): June 2017
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch (1st gen): Mar 2016
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st gen): Nov 2015
On that basis, we could see the new iPad Pro around April 2024.
Read about the other new products Apple is launching.
iPad Pro price: How much will the 2024 iPad Pro cost?
At the moment, these are the starting prices for each model in the current iPad Pro range.
- iPad Pro 11-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $799/£899
- iPad Pro 11-inch Cellular (2022): $999/£1,079
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch Wi-Fi (2022): $1,099/£1,249
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch Cellular (2022): $1,299/£1,429
If Apple introduces a larger 14-inch Pro we are likely to see price rises at the top of the range, so we’d expect the iPad Pro 14-inch to start at more than $1,299/£1,429.
Apple tends to move up by units of 100, and there are 300 between the base 11-inch and 12.9-inch models. So it seems reasonable to speculate that the 14-inch iPad Pro will start at $1,399/£1,529 or thereabouts.
The price of the rest of the lineup will depend on whether Apple continues to sell all the models. Apple could stop selling the 11-inch model and reduce the price of the 12.9-inch model, or it might stop selling the 12.9-inch model leaving the 11-inch at the current price.
New iPad Pro display: Mini-LED screen?
Apple
There’s some disagreement over the screen technology that will be offered.
Display analyst Ross Young originally suggested, in June 2022, that the 14-inch iPad Pro will feature a mini-LED display, just like the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro. But in a tweet later that month, he posted that the larger iPad would instead have a standard LED panel, as on the 11-inch iPad Pro, citing cost as a possible reason.
Then in December 2022, Young suggested that Apple is planning to move the entire iPad line to OLED by 2024. This matches what Gurman wrote (in January 2023). He predicted that coming to the iPad in the spring of 2024 is “an updated design and OLED screens”.
Apparently, according to market research company Omdia, the iPad Pro could see OLED upgrades by 2024. Yeux1122 claims that Apple is in negotiations with LG, Samsung, and Chinese companies for active matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs). More here: Apple may upgrade nearly every iPad with an OLED display.
Apple is also said to be working on its own micro-LED displays that could eventually make their way into a new larger iPad. Gurman also wrote in January that Apple would start transitioning its whole lineup to micro-LED displays, starting with the Apple Watch.
New iPad Pro specs: What features will the 2024 iPad Pro have?
Before they deleted their account, Twitter leaker Analyst941 reported that Apple was planning on releasing the new iPad Pro with external support for up to two 6K monitors running at 60Hz, the potential inclusion of an M3 Pro chipset, plus a “special version of iPadOS 17” that was being developed for the larger iPad Pro models. However, an alleged sting operation put a stop to the leaks, which threw a shadow over some of their predictions about the upcoming 14-inch iPad Pro.
The current iPad Pros are powered by the M2 chip, so it makes sense for an M3 to appear in any new 2024 models. We don’t think the M3 Pro is a likely option, though, as the Pro versions of Apple’s chips have so far only appeared on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini, and the M2 in the iPad Pros already provides more power than it needs. Also due to the iPad’s thin, finless design, it seems more sensible for a standard M3 to be at the heart of a 14-inch iPad Pro.
A tweet from June 2022 by Majin Bu suggested that the 14-inch iPad Pro would contain an M2 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of base storage, we would only expect to see the M2 used in the 14-inch iPad Pro if it launches separately to the rest of the range.
New iPad Pro specs: New keyboard
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicated in a September newsletter that Apple is planning a new aluminium Magic Keyboard with a larger trackpad, that will be released alongside the M3 iPad Pro.
As you can see, there are plenty of rumors and speculation about the next-generation iPad Pro, but not much in the way of solid facts just yet. We’ll update this article as more details appear, so check back regularly to see what we dig up. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up the best deals on iPad Pros so you can always get one now rather than waiting. The aluminium finish could make it more like a laptop when linked to the iPad.
