Chinese Report Expects 11-Inch iPad Pro at WWDC, No New iPhones Until Second Half of 2018

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to release a new iPad Pro with a display that measures about 11 inches, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News.

iPad Pro with slimmer bezels rendered by Benjamin Geskin​

We've already heard rumors about a 10.5-inch iPad Pro with slimmer bezels and no home button, so Apple could include a slightly larger 11-inch display without increasing the physical size of the tablet itself. This would mirror the iPhone X, which has a 5.8-inch screen, but is smaller than an iPhone 8 Plus.

Details are hard to gather from a loose translation of the Chinese report, which says the 11-inch iPad Pro and an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro are likely to be released at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, echoing an earlier prediction from Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang.

Both new iPad Pro models are expected to feature Face ID and faster eight-core Apple A11X processors. It's unclear if the tablets will have notches for the TrueDepth system, or a slimmer, uniform top bezel that still has enough room to house the camera and sensor technology that powers the facial recognition.

The report, citing a source, adds that Apple has no new iPhone models planned for the first half of 2018, dampening hopes for an iPhone SE refresh. The first new models of the year will likely be the so-called iPhone X2, iPhone X2 Plus, and a 6.1-inch aluminum iPhone with Face ID in September.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had already cast doubt on rumors about a second-generation iPhone SE launching in the first half of 2018. He said Apple was likely to focus its development resources on the trio of iPhone X-like models expected to launch in the second half of the year.

The current iPhone SE looks much like the iPhone 5s, including a smaller four-inch display, preferred by a subset of customers. The device is powered by Apple's A9 chip, like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and it has 2GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Touch ID.

Apple hasn't fully refreshed the iPhone SE since it launched in March 2016, but it did double its available storage capacities to 64GB and 128GB last March. It also dropped the device's starting price to $349 last September.

Article Link: Chinese Report Expects 11-Inch iPad Pro at WWDC, No New iPhones Until Second Half of 2018

 

[Andres Cantu]

Before people complain about the lack of an SE update, see it as a chance for them to include an A11 later rather than an A10 now.

 

[fokmik]

11" so this could mean, they remove the 10.5" and the 12.9" and make just one size ?!

 

[Blackstick]

iPhones in the second-half? Let's say, around September? You don't say!

 

[syklee26]

No 14 inch iPad Pro with slimmer bezel?

 

[Freddy Fruitfly]

Would you, based on above rumors, buy the current SE?

 

[krause734]

I still wish they called it the MaxiPad

 

[StellarVixen]

I really like that iPad render. Since iPad is different than the iPhone, it can look very nice, even with a notch. This rendering proves it.

 

[hajime]

I bought my iPad PRO 12.9" yesterday. Now I can understand the need for a thinner bezel. When watching youtube movies on landscape model, even I expanded the view, I saw two different sets of black regions (one caused by the device and one caused by the movies). Kind of ugly.

So, Apple is not replacing the 12.9" version by a 11" version?

 

[DCJ001]

"The first new models of the year will likely be the so-called iPhone X2, iPhone X2 Plus, and a 6.1-inch aluminum iPhone with Face ID in September."

iPhone X2? This would be pronounced iPhone 10 2. Who is the "genius" who came up with this idea?

 

[Aluminum213]

Apple really can’t figure out what screen dimensions they want

 

[hajime]

I really like that iPad render. Since iPad is different than the iPhone, it can look very nice, even with a notch. This rendering proves it.

Since the screen is to big, I think Apple should be able to make a much less obvious looking notch. There is no excuse for making it big like the iPhone X unless Apple want to make all devices look the same with the notch as "distinguished feature" of new models. The ratio of the screen size to camera is much bigger on the iPad PRO 12.9" vs. on the iPhone X.

 

[DNichter]

Awesome news, looking to upgrade from my 10.5.

 

[hajime]

Apple really can’t figure out what screen dimensions they want

They are using us as Guinness pigs to test for them.

 

[Foggydog]

I’m surprised that MacRumors is unable to translate Chinese text. Certainly Google translator would have worked.

 

[Loge]

Another size? Some apps have only just caught up with 10.5 (and maybe some not even that).

 

[fokmik]

I really like that iPad render. Since iPad is different than the iPhone, it can look very nice, even with a notch. This rendering proves it.

this render has no notch

 

[MrGimper]

Seems like Apple decided that the most important thing to copy from Android, is fragmentation.

 

[StellarVixen]

this render has no notch

Yeah, that's what I said. And it looks to me like there is still place for sensors in that super thin bezel, even if they include the FaceID.

 

[deadlystriker]

Please keep the line up simple apple.

It seems a new size comes out every year or so.

 

[Dave245]

Awesome news, looking to upgrade from my 10.5.

It looks like this may be the 10.5 but with a 11 screen after the home button is removed, i really think adding Face ID to the iPad is a great idea i love it on my iPhone X works brilliantly, one of my favourite Apple features. I also think it would be great to see Face ID appear on the Mac
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Please keep the line up simple apple.

It seems a new size comes out every year or so.

It will likely replace the 10.5" iPad Pro with no home button they can put 11" into the same frame and maybe reduce the bezels.

 

[brofkand]

Would you, based on above rumors, buy the current SE?

Yes, but I wouldn't pay $349 for one. Try to find a good used one, or buy one from your carrier (Cricket, Total Wireless, etc., sell them for $159) if possible.

 

[Freddy Fruitfly]

How about resizable iPads?

 

[RogerWilco]

Great news for info consumers. And the CPU rev in the Mac mini, the model that Apple sells today at full price, is how old?

 

[doomfront]

I hope so! Holding off on getting an iPad Pro until the new ones release. But every time I do web browsing on my phone I get closer to just buying one now. Hate using my MBP and browsing for an extended period of time on my phone is annoying, a new tablet would be perfect