Some big changes predicted for new iPad Pro but one rumour is outrageous

APPLE is set to release two new iPad Pro versions later this year and it’s believed the tablets will include some major design upgrades.

As is usual when we’re heading towards September — when Apple usually holds its biggest annual product event — the rumour mill is in overdrive. According to a number of reports, the new iPad will be a lot more like the iPhone X and include some of the flagship phone’s best capabilities.

Multiple reports suggest the iPad Pro will have a reduced bezel and get rid of the home button, and therefore Touch ID. In its place will reportedly be Face ID which debuted on the iPhone X and unlocks the device by the front-facing TrueDepth camera looking at your face.

According to specialist tech blog Macotakara, Apple is also planning to remove the headphone port from the new iPad Pro, meaning you would no longer be able to plug your headphones in using the very common 3.5mm jack. If you don’t have wireless headphones, you can still use an adaptor that converts your headphone port into a Lightning connector — the same connector that charges your iPhone.

Such a move might annoy some customers but many Apple users will be used to it by now since the company made the controversial move a couple years ago with the iPhone 7.

But there’s one, decidedly more unlikely, rumour getting about that is really freaking people out.

In addition to providing new details on the upcoming 6.1-inch iPhone, Macotakara claims the upcoming iPad Pro models will feature smaller form factors, a relocated Smart Connector, and no headphone jack. pic.twitter.com/oTpYlsBS34

— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) July 28, 2018

The Macotakara report also suggests that Apple could move the Smart Connector which currently sits on the side of the device and lets you connect an attachable keyboard. A lot of customers (myself included) use the iPad as a more portable laptop alternative which involves placing the iPad in landscape mode and connecting the lightweight keyboard.

According to the unsubstantiated report, the Smart Connector would be moved to the bottom of the device, potentially making people use the iPad and keyboard in portrait mode. Such a move is supposedly because Face ID doesn’t quite work as well in landscape mode.

As unlikely as that is, more fuel was added to the fire by dedicated leaker Steve H from OnLeaks who posted a CAD (computer aided design) which shows a strange new connector on the bottom of the rendered iPad image.

Just got my hands on a purported 2018 iPad Pro CAD showing a unknown thing located on the back of the tablet... NB: I can't confirm the accuracy of that CAD I share for discussion purposes only because of that weird and yet unexplained detail... ? pic.twitter.com/9R7jeLDfLV

— Steve H. (@OnLeaks) July 30, 2018

Nope. No smart connector to see anywhere else...

— Steve H. (@OnLeaks) July 30, 2018

However most dedicated Apple publications aren’t buying it. And for good reason as it seems like a highly unlikely move.

“That seems … unlikely. And kinda dumb. Who in their right mind would buy an iPad with a keyboard that docks in portrait mode,” wrote MacWorld.

“There isn’t any hard evidence to back this up. It should be possible for Apple to make a new horizontal keyboard attachment still,” wrote 9to5Mac.

Despite some of the big changes likely coming to the new iPad, this particular rumour probably got lost in translation.

Apple declined to comment. The company’s flagship product event is expected in early September.