Apple Likely to Introduce iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4 at September 9 Event

[SMIDG3T]

2 brand new products in a single event? Unlikely.

Last year. New iPhones and Apple Watch.

 

[kbk75]

If they didn't at least offer a version with 256GB of internal storage, preferably with faster flash memory than anything they've done so far, a larger iPad would be of no interest to me, as someone with a full-to-the-brim Air 2.

 

[dampfnudel]

No Air 3?

I'm not trying to complain because I know there is a lot of built up excitement for the iPad Mini and Pro, but I'm finally ready to upgrade my iPad 3. A mini is too small for me and a Pro would kind of defeat the purpose for me.

Your iPad 2.5 will have to huff and puff a little bit longer.

 

[MacSince1985]

Let's be clear on something. A larger display does not make it pro. More icons on the grid does not make it pro. What makes it Pro is a file system. Desktop widgets. Or default apps. Or full OS X. I do not take the name iPad pro lightly. It either has those things or it's another toy.

In the Apple World, Pro means more powerful. The Mac Pro and MacBook Pro run the same OS as the iMac, MacBook Air and Mac Mini. The difference between those devices are processor, RAM, video card and ports. From the description, the same is true for the iPad Pro.

 

[Ploki]

Unless iPad Pro runs Mac OS, it does not deserve the "Pro" moniker.

Why? OS X is completely unoptimized for touch, and you would see traces of it already in El Capitan betas.

You already have a lot of software that allows seamless iOS/OS X integration.

And there's only so much you can do without a mouse/keyboard the way most of desktop software is designed.
Not only OS, most of the software really isn't touch-optimized. it's at best optimized for dedicated controllers or tablets... but that's it.

It's just not logical...

Also, with a dedicated stylus and better integration it deserves the "Pro" moniker, because its still aimed at power users.

Who cares about pro moniker anyways...

 

[Ploki]

Let's be clear on something. A larger display does not make it pro. More icons on the grid does not make it pro. What makes it Pro is a file system. Desktop widgets. Or default apps. Or full OS X. I do not take the name iPad pro lightly. It either has those things or it's another toy.

Desktop software is not optimized for touch at all.
I've played with desktop touch integration, software (from Adobe, Affinity, Apple, Avid, whatever) is not made for touch.
Better integration, wired display hookup would make things pro.

Touch layer over OS X wouldn't do anything "professional" because no professional would touch it.

 

[malexandria]

I don't understand the concept of this. Who would look at an iPad "Pro" and an Macbook and go, "Wow, let's get the iPad Pro?"

 

[Dave245]

They probably do not care because they might target the iPad Pro to, well, professionals. Therefore the average consumer won't be affected anyways by the iPad announcement.

This is a good point actually, if the iPad Pro is aimed at professional market Apple might not be expecting it to be a big hit with the average consumer. Me personally I'm looking forward to it, I'm in the creative industry so a bigger iPad would be great. The one feature of the Surface I have seen and liked is the pen writing on the screen with One Note, Apple could do this with Notes especially now that in IOS 9 it has been updated.

 

[sracer]

Let's be clear on something. A larger display does not make it pro. More icons on the grid does not make it pro. What makes it Pro is a file system. Desktop widgets. Or default apps. Or full OS X.

In your opinion of course. Because having a widget to show the weather is a "Pro" feature.

I wonder if those who want OSX on a tablet have ever used a Windows tablet. If one wants to use a non-touch optimized desktop OS on a tablet, there ya go. It's absolutely terrible when using it in touch mode. Hint: there's more to touch-optimizing an OS than magnifying UI elements.

I do not take the name iPad pro lightly.

Then it might be helpful to lighten up.

 

[sracer]

I don't understand the concept of this. Who would look at an iPad "Pro" and an Macbook and go, "Wow, let's get the iPad Pro?"

I don't know. What is an iPad "Pro"? It doesn't exist and the rumors are all over the place. How could anyone come to a conclusion that they would want or not want this currently mythical device.

 

[iMacmatician]

Touch layer over OS X wouldn't do anything "professional" because no professional would touch it.

Intentional?

I don't understand the concept of this. Who would look at an iPad "Pro" and an Macbook and go, "Wow, let's get the iPad Pro?"

For me, mainly note taking, scratch work, and PDF annotating. The iPad Pro's display is nearly as large as the 8.5"x11" and A4 paper sizes. (I would prefer one slightly larger than a sheet of paper, but 12.9" is probably good enough.)

 

[Hitch08]

But still hoping Apple will surprise us with new Ipad Air 3 along side the Ipad Mini and the Ipad Pro!!

Same here - hoping for an Air 3 for Christmas.

 

[brinary001]

2 brand new products in a single event? Unlikely.

It would be even more than that if the new TV is announced as well. But I agree, this will primarily be an iPhone event.

 

[Ploki]

Intentional?

For me, mainly note taking, scratch work, and PDF annotating. The iPad Pro's display is nearly as large as the 8.5"x11" and A4 paper sizes. (I would prefer one slightly larger than a sheet of paper, but 12.9" is probably good enough.)

Yeah

Also, giving a dedicated stylus to iPad Pro (god i hope it comes to iPad Mini) + larger size itself is enough for the Pro moniker, if they follow the same trend as with MacBooks

 

[littelsquidge]

If we've learnt anything from the 'pattern' of Apple keynotes. It's that there is no fixed pattern. Yes, they've tended to have iPhone keynotes in September and iPads in October recently. iPads used to be released in March / April, some Macs at WWDC (I seem to remember), some new products have been announced loooong before release, some only a matter of weeks. Heck, the first 4 iPhone generations were released in June/July.

Apple aren't worried about overshadowing their flagship product, last year they announced the Apple Watch at the iPhone event. The one thing we know for certain is that Apple are holding a 'Big Announcement' next week (Siri's words, not mine). I can absolutely see them introducing several new products on 9th September.

There seems very little need to hold an October event. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the El Capitain beta releases keeping pace with the iOS 9 ones? Doesn't that suggest a concurrent release of both?

I trust Apple to know and understand the market for their own devices better than anyone. If they think there's market for a larger iPad with stylus support, then they'll make it work. For those that don't see the point of this rumoured iPad pro/plus, then you're clearly not their target market.

 

[dojoman]

4-5 hours long event for iPhone 6S, Apple TV, iPad Pro? I doubt it.

 

[Thunderbird]

So we're finally going to see the new 12" Maxi Pad.

Can't wait!

 

[Zwhaler]

Given that the next iPhones are shaping up to be entirely yawn worthy, this is actually exciting news.

 

[tillsbury]

I don't know. What is an iPad "Pro"? It doesn't exist and the rumors are all over the place. How could anyone come to a conclusion that they would want or not want this currently mythical device.

Because the two significant features that are being rumoured are the increased size and the stylus. Those are the two hardware changes I would want to make an ipad significantly more useful. I already use an ipad for playing music (swiping the screen is so much easier than turning a page while playing, and you can store enormous amounts without carting lots of books around). And I watch programmes on the ipad when running and at other times.

I also use an ipad for annotating PDFs (with an Adonis).

The one thing we can guarantee with Apple is that if they do introduce a stylus for the ipad pro they will completely nail it. That's an exciting possibility.

 

[bronksy]

As a pro photographer I totally get the larger iPad thing. BUT it would have to be able to actually be a tool that would be much more useful than the current range.
The biggest weakness of the iPad for me has always been getting images into the iPad and out again. If the new iPad could even allow me some basic editing and culling of images on location it would be amazing.

My ideal workflow would be..
Ingest images into iPad from
Camera or card reader.

Use Lightroom mobile to organise and perform edits on the images. With a stylus this would be superb.

Return to base and use handoff to sync files back to my iMac for final editing and refining.

The benefits of having cellular connectivity are clear - sending images without needing a laptop and dongle etc.

Obviously this is a niche market., but I'd imagine medical, music and other creative Industries would jump on this.

Perhaps Apple have developed something with Adobe or even Wacom for the relevant markets.

Imagine using the iPad pro as a drawing tablet with the screen of your max mirrored - Like astropad but built in at OS level. It would be like the Cintiq.

I really hope this comes off and they put some connectivity into the iPad pro. Possibly USB-C?

 

[2IS]

I was about to buy a Mini 2 to use as a FPV monitor for my Phantom 3 quad copter I recently purchased, but gonna hold off until after the announcement. I'm still targeting a Mini 2, but hopefully it will see a price drop.

 

[sracer]

Because the two significant features that are being rumoured are the increased size and the stylus. Those are the two hardware changes I would want to make an ipad significantly more useful. I already use an ipad for playing music (swiping the screen is so much easier than turning a page while playing, and you can store enormous amounts without carting lots of books around). And I watch programmes on the ipad when running and at other times.

I also use an ipad for annotating PDFs (with an Adonis).

The one thing we can guarantee with Apple is that if they do introduce a stylus for the ipad pro they will completely nail it. That's an exciting possibility.

I agree. If Apple introduces a stylus, they'll nail it, and do it in an unconventional way.

For me, in addition to the two things you mentioned (size, stylus) I would add support for bluetooth pointing devices like a mouse and trackpad.

 

[iMacmatician]

My predictions for the September 9th event:

iPhone 5S

• No hardware changes
• $0 (16 GB)

iPhone 6

• No hardware changes
• $99 (16 GB)

iPhone "6C"

• Won’t be announced

iPhone 6S

• 4.7" 1334x750 display
• Force Touch
• A9 SoC
  • Samsung 14 nm only
  • 2 "enhanced Typhoon" cores
  • PowerVR GT7400, ~1.5x performance over A8
• 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 16/64/128 GB storage
• $199/$299/$399

iPhone 6S Plus

• 5.5” 1920x1080 display
• Force Touch
• A9 SoC
  • Samsung 14 nm only
  • 2 "enhanced Typhoon" cores
  • PowerVR GT7400, ~1.5x performance over A8
• 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 16/64/128 GB storage
• $299/$399/$499

iPad mini 4

• 7.9" 2048x1536 display
• No Force Touch
• A8 SoC
• 2 GB LPDDR3 RAM
• 16/64/128 GB storage
• $399/$499/$599

iPad Air

• No hardware changes
• $0-$50 price drop

iPad Air 2

• No hardware changes
• $0-$50 price drop

iPad Pro

• 12.9" 2732x2048 (264 PPI) display
• Force Touch
• A9X SoC
  • TSMC 16 nm only
  • 4 "enhanced Typhoon" cores
  • PowerVR Series 7XT 12 core semi-custom GPU, 2x-2.5x performance over A8X
• 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM
• 64/128/256 GB storage
• $699/$799/$999 (Wi-Fi)
• Two areas of focus will be note taking and "pro" apps

Apple TV

• A8 SoC

Remark: I am not implying that these will be the only announcements, features, and updates at the event. They are only the ones that I am making specific predictions about.

Updated 09/03/2015 with Apple TV prediction and general remark.

 

[littelsquidge]

And the original Apple TV was simply a pet project that didn't get much attention even in the keynote.

That sounds like an awful lot to cram into a single event.

That's a full agenda. I wonder if they will extend the time of the event?

It would be even more than that if the new TV is announced as well. But I agree, this will primarily be an iPhone event.

4-5 hours long event for iPhone 6S, Apple TV, iPad Pro? I doubt it.

Last September:
Two entirely new iPhones & iOS 8 ~ 35 minutes
Apple Pay ~ 15 minutes
Apple Watch ~ 50 minutes
They even squeezed in 15 excruciating minutes of U2 Dad Dancing and still kept the keynote around 2 hours.

If the rumours are right, I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility that they'll have time for:
Two refreshed iPhones & iOS 9 ~ 35 minutes
iPad mini 4 now same specs as Air 2 ~ 10 minutes
New larger iPad with some as yet unseen iOS 9.1 features and maybe some 'Pro Apps' ~ 25 minutes
WatchOS 2 and shiney shiney new watch bands ~ 10 minutes
Updated Apple TV with some kind of TVKit/TVOS ~ 25 minutes
They may even have time to recap OSX El Capitan and keep to 2 hours.

*Not necessarily in this order

To me, it seems plausible. And sensible. If new Macs won't be ready till early 2016, why bother with an October event?

 

[dampfnudel]

Given that the next iPhones are shaping up to be entirely yawn worthy, this is actually exciting news.

You consider 2GB RAM, 12MP camera with 4K recording, mLED with Force Touch yawn worthy. Oh, you're right, it looks the same, my bad.