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DigiTimes: 12.9-inch Mini-LED iPad Pro Arriving Early 2021, Mini-LED MacBook Coming Later
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Yes, it is a precedent. Not to mention the mid-2018 MacBook 15 silent upgrade cluster (with new video card options added 3 months later in November).
The iPad 3rd gen was actually the first iPad to have the Retina display, not the 4th gen, but it was underpowered. The 4th gen was the unexpected upgrade that pissed everyone off because it came only 6 months later and had improved battery life. I should know, because I owned the 3rd gen iPad
Yes, it is a precedent. Not to mention the mid-2018 MacBook 15 silent upgrade cluster (with new video card options added 3 months later in November).
The iPad 3rd gen was actually the first iPad to have the Retina display, not the 4th gen, but it was underpowered. The 4th gen was the unexpected upgrade that pissed everyone off because it came only 6 months later and had improved battery life. I should know, because I owned the 3rd gen iPad
You can’t count MacBooks. There always has and always will be spec upgrades for laptops and desktops.
And what you are describing is why Apple most likely won’t release another iPad Pro 12.9 in 2020.
I owned the iPad 3rd gen and there was nothing terrible about it. It was heavier than the original iPad Air due to bigger battery and they say it was underpowered but I never experienced that. Apple updates products when they are ready and worthy of an update. Lightning and better power warranted the 4th gen upgrade, and better video card options with better power consumption motivated the late-2018 Macbook Pro “silent upgrade.”
To say they never do it just isn’t true. They’ve done it a few times.
That said, it is highly unlikely they will do it this year during the pandemic because they don’t have to, but it’s still possible.
That’s too bad; I was going to buy an 11” when they updated it with the 14X. Not everyone wants a 12.9” model, it’s simply too big for some who travel light with other devices. They should stick to the same segmentation as they do with the phones, having “Pro” and “Pro Max” options...
I agree -- we are most likely not going to see an update to the iPad Pro in 2020. However, I believe this is because of the pandemic, because all of the rumors prior to March pointed to a mini-LED update to the iPad Pros in late 2020. So, in an alternate world, there would have been two updates this year.
We haven't seen sub-annual upgrades to iPad Pros because historically Apple does not release multiple SoC generations in a year. The A12X always had room for eight GPU cores, it was just the yields were not good enough to enable them all so the A12X shipped with seven enabled. Once yields improved, they enabled the 8th.
Apple skipped the A13X (as they skipped the A11X) so arguably the 2020 iPad Pro could have and probably would have launched at the end of 2020 instead of March to wait for the A14X's availability. But Apple wanted a LIDAR sensor available before the iPhone 12 shipped, hence they moved up the iPad Pro to March.
Apple skipped the A13X (as they skipped the A11X) so arguably the 2020 iPad Pro could have and probably would have launched at the end of 2020 instead of March to wait for the A14X's availability. But Apple wanted a LIDAR sensor available before the iPhone 12 shipped, hence they moved up the iPad Pro to March.
I agree -- we are most likely not going to see an update to the iPad Pro in 2020. However, I believe this is because of the pandemic, because all of the rumors prior to March pointed to a mini-LED update to the iPad Pros in late 2020. So, in an alternate world, there would have been two updates this year.
Well unless the pandemic as of a few days ago changed things it was reported only a couple of days ago that it would be this year. So I’m not sure what’s changed except that these are all rumors and guys just throw things out there In the hopes that they are right.
The Pro update was pretty measly. What was it an extra core and lidar? I don't see that holding back a release early 2021 or even later this year if they can.
Well, it’s just a blind guess on my part so it’s probably not even something that Apple has planed.
But ...if that does turn out to be the case, I would imagine it has to do with the future of iPadOS for the iPad Pro and possible addition of Mac capabilities to the 12.9 that would require the real estate. That’s my guess.
I hope you’re right if that’s the case (even though it would be sad to see the smaller iPad Pro go away). If the 12.9” could run Mac apps (not a stretch now that MacOS will be on Arm), I’d gladly get rid of my 12” MacBook and use only the Pro with a Smart Keyboard, even though it’s slightly heavier.
It was. The Retina screen was a VERY big upgrade, which made for example me purchase the 3 while I already had both the 1 and the 2.
Much more so than with the iPhone 3GS -> 4 update - after all, iPads are meant for a lot more frequent use (for example for reading) than phones.
No way the iPad 3 was a bigger update than the 3GS to 4. The 4 was a 100% completely different design and different materials used. It remains one of the lost iconic designs Apple ever introduced.
You can go ahead with your iPad 3 being a VERY big update. I just VERY much disagree. It added a retina screen with very little performance improvement. The iPhone 4 changed everything about how phone’s were designed and is still one of Apple’s greatest design achievements.
Sorry, I meant the Retina upgrade itself was far more important in the iPad line than in the iPhone one, the former being meant for content consumption. The low-res screen is far more annoying on a device one uses hours a day for reading than on a phone.
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“12.9” is quoted. No mention of “11”. Will Apple abandon the iPad Pro 11-inch, in favor of offering the similar iPad Air 10.9? There are rumors Apple is working to significantly improve the Magic Keyboard experience but only the 12.9-inch size. 
