Data Suggests Apple’s Upcoming 11″ iPad Pro Has Been Canceled

Apple Ipad Pro Concept Credit: Álvaro Pabesio
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A new report seems to conflict with previous rumors that this year’s iPad Pro lineup would receive a form factor change.

Appsee, an in-app analytics platform, has seemingly spotted upcoming iPad Pro models being tested in the wild. That’s not altogether an unusual thing, and it just proves that Apple is internally testing its new tablets by using apps that use Appsee’s analytics platform.

The firm told MacRumors this week that it saw iPads in its device logs with unused model identifiers of iPad8,1 through iPad8,8 — which have been pegged as cellular and non-cellular variants of the unreleased 2018 iPad Pros.

But the most interesting portion of the report is the fact that the new iPad Pro lineup may retain the exact same display size and resolution as their predecessors.

Appsee logged that the new iPad Pro models had point resolutions of 1,112×834 and 1,366×1,024 for the smaller and larger variants, respectively.

Using simple math based on the fact that Apple iPad Pro displays have four pixels per point, MacRumors concluded that the 2018 iPad Pro models would feature the exact same resolution as last year’s 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros.

This suggests that the 2018 iPad Pro lineup would comprise of a 10.5-inch model and a 12.9-inch model.

The new iPad Pro devices are largely expected to get the iPhone X treatment with edge-to-edge displays, no Home button, and slim bezels. That makes it likely that the actual tablets will be smaller and lighter but will retain the same display size and resolution.

But this conflicts with previous reports, including a prediction from renowned TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. As a result of the edge-to-edge display design, Kuo forecasted that the smaller iPad Pro would sport a slighter larger 11-inch display. If Apple bumped up the display size of its smaller iPad Pro this year, then the resolution would not be the same as last year.

Kuo added that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro would have the same display size as its predecessor in a smaller footprint.

If AppSee’s data is correct, it suggests that both 2018 iPad Pro models would be smaller and lighter but would have roughly the same display size as their 2017 counterparts.

Interestingly, two separate reports — one from Mac Otakara and another from Slashleaks — indicate that the 10.5-inch iPad Pro would be 4mm wider but smaller on all other dimensions. That does not necessarily mean that the display would be larger, however.

MacRumors also makes it clear that AppSee’s data has been on-point in the past. Previously, the analytics firm correctly pegged the display resolutions of the original iPad Pro in 2015.

Either way, we won’t have to wait very long to find out which rumor is true. Apple is largely expected to debut its new iPad Pro models this month, possibly at a second fall keynote close to the last week of October.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]

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