What to expect from Apple’s upcoming iPad upgrades

Last March, Apple updated the iPad Pro line up with a new processor, better camera, upgraded mics, and trackpad support. A few rumors suggested that this year, the company will hold an event on March 23 to announce new devices, including new-gen iPad Pros.

However, we haven’t heard anything from Apple and a new report from Bloomberg suggests that we’re going to see the new iPads in April.

If you’re expecting any visual changes to the iPad Pro lineup, you might be disappointed. The sizes — 12.9-inch and 11-inch — will remain the same, and there won’t be any major design shifts from the previous generation.

One of the biggest updates Apple is introducing is a mini-LED display that’ll supposedly improve contrast ratios and brightness. In a recent investor note, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that mini-LED tech is coming to at least the 12.9-inch model.

The display technology is already picking up and the world’s leading TV makers have already released models with it at CES in January. You can read more about those TVs and mini-LED tech here.

In its report, Bloomberg said that the new iPad Pros will also get “an updated processor that is on par with the faster M1 chip in the latest MacBook Air.” So, we could be seeing an M1X tuned for Apple’s tablets. This will definitely bring more power to iPads, and probably provide a platform for developers to tune their iOS apps to run better on Macs. 

In addition to this, the new-gen iPad Pros will also get a Thunderbolt port. In essence, it’ll remain a USB-C port, but it’ll allow you to connect peripherals such as external monitors and hard drives better.

We’re not expecting any changes to the iPad Air or the iPad Mini at this event. However, another recent Kuo note suggested that the Air could get an OLED screen in 2022, and that sounds exciting.

We’ll be covering all things iPad on Plugged, so stay tuned.