2020 iPad Pro Said to Feature 3D Sensing Rear Cameras [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Update - Sep 2: The Elec has again reported that Apple plans to release an iPad Pro with 3D sensing camera technology early next year:

US-based Apple also plans to adopt the ToF module for the first time in its tablet, the iPad Pro, early next year. The ToF function will be available for the iPhones beginning in the latter half of next year.

Update - Aug 27: In an email to MacRumors, a representative for Derkwoo Electronics claimed that The Elec's report contained "wrong information" and "something that is not true about us." The Elec has since deleted its article. Original story follows.



Apple plans to release a new iPad Pro with 3D sensing rear cameras in March 2020, according to Korean website The Elec.

The report, citing unnamed industry sources, claims that Korean contract manufacturer Derkwoo Electronics will provide some of the components for the 3D sensing camera modules, including stiffeners and brackets. Mass production of those parts will supposedly begin towards the end of 2019.

The rear 3D sensing is said to be powered by time-of-flight technology, which measures the time that it takes for a laser or LED to bounce off of objects in a room, providing an accurate 3D map of the surroundings.

While the iPhone is expected to adopt a similar time-of-flight system next year, the report suggests that the iPad Pro will adopt the technology six months before the iPhone. Specifically, the new iPad Pro models would be released in March 2020, while new iPhones would likely follow in September.

This lines up with a January 2019 report from Bloomberg that claimed a laser-powered 3D camera could debut first on an iPad Pro as early as spring 2020, but Bloomberg more recently reported that Apple plans to refresh the iPad Pro line by the end of 2019, so Apple's roadmap is not entirely clear.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said there is an over 50 percent probability that the iPad Pro adopts time-of-flight technology in the fourth quarter of 2019 or first quarter of 2020.

Apple would be breaking precedent by refreshing the iPad Pro in March 2020, as the tablet has gone roughly 18 months between hardware updates since first launching in November 2015 — the second-generation 12.9-inch model was released in June 2017, followed by third-generation models in November 2018.

It's also worth considering that the iPad rarely receives new features before the iPhone, with exceptions including LTE on the iPad 3 before the iPhone 5 in 2012, and the iPad receiving A4 and A5 chips before the iPhone.

Given that Bloomberg and Japanese blog Mac Otakara expect an iPad Pro refresh by the end of 2019, it is possible the March 2020 timeframe is inaccurate and that next year's iPad Pro models launch in the fall instead, which would better space out the 2019 and 2020 refreshes and allow rear 3D sensing to debut on the iPhone.

3D sensing rear cameras coming to both the iPhone and iPad is not much of a surprise as Apple pushes further into augmented reality.

As additional reports surface, the iPad Pro's roadmap should become clearer.

Updated at 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time with additional details from Bloomberg and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Article Link: 2020 iPad Pro Said to Feature 3D Sensing Rear Cameras [Updated]

 

[fokmik]

march 2020??? after an rumored Sep-Oct new ipad pro ??
I trust more Gurman

 

[macduke]

I like it better when Apple releases new iPad Pros right after the iPhone. At least the Spring is better than the Summer. Nothing like buying an expensive new iPad Pro only to have the new iPhone that comes out two months later either match or beat it in performance because it uses a newer generation processor.

 

[KIERONOO]

When are these iPads gonna get OLED?

 

[one more]

And we all see iPad prices elegantly climb to the realm of 2K+

 

[calstanford]

When are these iPads gonna get OLED?

Asking the REAL questions!

 

[ilikewhey]

my 1st gen ipad 12.9 is showing its age, slight burn in on the bottom, occasional lag here and there, battery life not what it used to be. if this is true thn i'll hold off til the new ipad.

 

[jackietreeh0rn]

Here come the $2000 iPads.

 

[peter34]

It's also worth considering that the iPad rarely receives new features before the iPhone, with exceptions including LTE on the iPad 3 before the iPhone 5 in 2012, and the iPad receiving A4 and A5 chips before the iPhone.

another exception is USB-C

 

[Koivari]

3D nonsence rear cameras.

 

[FasterQuieter]

There are 2 things I think that would make my 12.9" iPad Pro perfect. An OLED/MicroLED screen and less weight. Don't see myself using a camera array for anything, ever. But I have been wrong many times before!

 

[ejpeg]

I would buy an iPad without camera. Never use it on mine.

 

[nicho]

another exception is USB-C

Technically not, else we could add 12.9" screens and quad speakers to that list.

 

[puckhead193]

Here come the $2000 iPads.

if apple pushes the iPad OS more i could seem them doing this for a macbook pro "replacement"/alternative. Not getting rid of the MBP it but this will be more geared towards the average user.

 

[Stevie jobz 2.0]

Anyone seen using an iPad to take a photo, when they have a more than capable camera phone in their pocket should be shot on sight!!!!

 

[ApplePhy]

I would buy an iPad without camera. Never use it on mine.

Camera is not only used for taking photos, but is very useful in the pro devices for ‘scanning’ documents (by taking pictures of them), converting them into PDFs, and using  pencil to edit/sign

 

[bpeeps]

I would buy an iPad without camera. Never use it on mine.

I only use it to take photos of my iPhone when it's time to sell it every 2 to 3 years. Other than that, it is never used.

 

[G5isAlive]

I like it better when Apple releases new iPad Pros right after the iPhone. At least the Spring is better than the Summer. Nothing like buying an expensive new iPad Pro only to have the new iPhone that comes out two months later either match or beat it in performance because it uses a newer generation processor.

As Apple pushes the iPad Pro as an alternative to a MacBook, I think they will decouple more and more features updates between the phone and the iPad. It's no longer just a bigger phone (if it ever was). Apple will want it judged on its own merits. So I am not swayed by what Apple did historically on updates (the point of the article, not your quote).

 

[myapple2019]

Apple plans to release a new iPad Pro with 3D sensing rear cameras in March 2020, according to Korean website The Elec.

The report, citing unnamed industry sources, claims that Korean contract manufacturer Derkwoo Electronics will provide some of the components for the 3D sensing camera modules, including stiffeners and brackets. Mass production of those parts will supposedly begin towards the end of 2019.

The rear 3D sensing is said to be powered by time-of-flight technology, which measures the time that it takes for a laser or LED to bounce off of objects in a room, providing an accurate 3D map of the surroundings.

While the iPhone is expected to adopt a similar time-of-flight system next year, the report suggests that the iPad Pro will adopt the technology six months before the iPhone. Specifically, the new iPad Pro models would be released in March 2020, while new iPhones would likely follow in September.

Apple would be breaking precedent by refreshing the iPad Pro in March 2020, however, as the tablet has gone roughly 18 months between hardware updates since first launching in November 2015 -- the second-generation 12.9-inch model was released in June 2017, followed by third-generation models in November 2018.

Bloomberg recently reported that Apple plans to refresh the iPad Pro lineup with faster processors and upgraded cameras by the end of 2019, while Japanese blog Mac Otakara expects new iPad Pro models with triple-lens rear cameras to launch in October, which would only be five months before the March 2020 refresh.

It's also worth considering that the iPad rarely receives new features before the iPhone, with exceptions including LTE on the iPad 3 before the iPhone 5 in 2012, and the iPad receiving A4 and A5 chips before the iPhone.

A few possibilities can be speculated based on all of this information, with one being that Apple holds off on refreshing the iPad Pro in fall 2019 and instead introduces the triple-lens rear camera system with 3D sensing in March 2020, around 16 months after the November 2018 models launched.

Another possibility is that the March 2020 timeframe is inaccurate and that next year's iPad Pro models launch in October instead, which would better space out the 2019 and 2020 refreshes and allow rear 3D sensing to debut on the iPhone.

3D sensing rear cameras coming to both the iPhone and iPad is not much of a surprise as Apple pushes further into augmented reality.

As additional reports surface, the iPad Pro's roadmap should become clearer.

Article Link: 2020 iPad Pro Said to Feature 3D Sensing Rear Cameras

2020 appears to be indeed “THE” year to update Apple gadgets with major iPhone and iPad update. Not this year.

 

[jtmarine73]

This seems like a solution in search of a problem. This would be much more useful on a phone than an iPad. Even more useful if you just buy a 3D camera and connect it to an iPad Mini. Something you can actually hold easily.

 

[panjandrum]

It will be interesting to see how this whole 3D sensor thing works. I've been a fan of stereoscopic imaging (and movies, and games - been running stereoscopic gaming on my game rigs for nearly 10 years now) for a long time, and one of the problems with creating a stereoscopic image from a single POV is occlusion. With two points-of-view spaced far enough apart (our eyes), you get true 3D, but just as importantly, each POV can see part of what is behind any occluding object that the other POV can't see. In video games this leads to the whole problem with VR (and proper stereoscopic gaming even without VR) taking such massive power - they actually have to render the game twice in order to avoid areas of the scene being occluded. In other "fast" 3D modes, where a game world is built using the depth-map from a single POV, there are always areas that are occluded - which the software then has to fill-in with guesswork, causing a distortion around objects usually called "halos". So where I could see and iPhone or iPad with dual-lenses at either end of the device taking true 3D images, I'm not sure I understand how these "3D sensing" cameras get around the issue that from any single POV there are areas blocked from sight that wouldn't be with 2 properly spaced lenses. How are they filling in this missing data? Anyone understand the technology well-enough to explain it? (Personally, I hope it works very well. I would love to take 3D photos on vacation and then display those on our 3D projector or even view them in VR).

 

[JPack]

This March 2020 launch date makes sense if Apple is adding a brand new iPad Pro product to the family. We're already expecting a refresh of the current iPad Pro this fall.

It also makes sense to add 3D to iPad first instead of iPhone. Picture the possibilities of editing and annotating images for creative and design on iPad with Pencil. Having a ToF sensor on iPhone just means more sophisticated portrait mode effects.

 

[bluespark]

I'm sure some value the camera on their iPad, but I wish Apple would offer a variant of the iPad Pro that includes no rear camera, or at least one that doesn't protrude. It's hard to imagine an iPad Pro owner that doesn't also have a good smartphone camera, and I believe many of us would value a flat-backed iPad more than a high-quality rear camera.

 

[Crowbot]

I would buy an iPad without camera. Never use it on mine.

I'm happy with the simple 8MP cam on my iPad mini 5. It's my "if all else fails" camera.

 

[alexandr]

but wait... it doesn't fold...