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Rumors of a 14.1-inch iPad have shifted. Last week, supply chain analyst Ross Young predicted the potential device would be branded as the iPad Pro and feature the Mini LED/ProMotion display found on the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Now, however, Young is predicting the 14.1-inch tablet habit according to a report from Mini-LED or have a 120 Hz display with an adaptive refresh rate MacRumors.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are also rumors that the entry-level iPad, which currently retails for $329 and has a 10.2-inch screen, will get a major upgrade with modern connectivity and specs.
A 14.1-inch iPad without Pro features and cutting-edge screen tech seems a bit confusing at first – wouldn’t power users want the biggest screen and all the high-end features? – but the move makes sense. Apple recently announced a new multitasking feature for iPadOS called Stage Manager, coming later this year that will benefit from additional screen real estate. In my opinion, at least, it wouldn’t hurt Apple to shy away from astronomical prices for the first iPad that could really take advantage of the system (although Samsung is asking around $1,000 for its 14.6-inch tablet, so less expensive isn’t necessarily actually affordable). With that in mind, the people who would appreciate more screen real estate the most would be the iPadOS enthusiasts, who probably wouldn’t like having to choose between a bigger screen or sticking with the 12.9-inch Pro’s beautiful display tech .
Young predicts that the 14.1-inch iPad will appear in the first quarter of 2023.
Part of Apple’s reported decision not to give the 14.1-inch screen maximum performance could be due to supply chain considerations. Looking at the shipping times of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, it seems Apple is struggling to keep up with demand for the mini-LED-equipped tablet. The company’s website predicts that it would take me over two weeks to get the base model of the big Pro, while I could get the 11-inch version or the Air in hours. Some configurations of the MacBook Pro, which features a 14.2-inch mini-LED display, also seem relatively hard to come by.
For Apple’s entry-level iPad, supplying mini-LED panels probably won’t be a problem quite longer time. However, 9to5Mac reports that the tablet will receive a refresh later this year that will include a 2360 x 1640 resolution screen — the same resolution as the current iPad Air. The current model’s screen has a 2160 x 1620 resolution, hence it seems likely that the screen will be slightly larger.
9 to 5 also reports that the updated iPad will have a USB-C connector instead of a Lightning connector alongside every other current iPad model, and that it will also get 5G capabilities. It will also reportedly feature Apple’s A14 chip, an evolution of the A13 in the current model. The report doesn’t mention whether the company will update the tablet’s design along with its capabilities, but if it really does get a new screen and port, it would be very strange if its body didn’t change as well. (Besides, how could you fit both a larger screen and a home button in the same space?)
As for the iPad Pro range, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman predicted last week that they will be updated later this year (they launched in April 2021). The expectation is that they will get the M2 chip that Apple announced at WWDC. Last year’s rumors suggested the 11-inch iPad Pro would get the Mini LED, but those have recently been reversed too – young and well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have both predicted that the smaller Pro -iPad will not get the advanced display technology. While Apple’s “desktop-class” upgrades to iPadOS can work well with a desktop-class upgrade processor, it’s not exactly the most exciting upgrade. These apparently belong to the iPads of the lower price range.
