Don’t expect big upgrades for the iPad Pro or other Apple tablets this year. It could be another 12 months before the next wave of big updates.
Subscriber-only version of Mark Gurman (opens in new tab)Bloomberg’s latest newsletter says that the iPad Pro “certainly hasn’t caught the eye this year,” and that the standard iPad, iPad Air, or iPad mini is also set to get a “major update.” Is not.
Instead, 2024 will be the iPad line’s banner year.
New designs could include giving the iPad Pro a glass back, or at least a partial glass back, that could support wireless charging. Both of these are rare to find on a tablet and help Apple set his slate of premiums apart from rivals.
We’ve also heard rumors of a larger iPad Pro model up to 16 inches, but it’s not yet available. Gurman didn’t say anything specific about the new size in his newsletter, but presumably this will be part of the redesign he mentioned.
OLED tablet displays are more common, and tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series use this technology. Gurman’s 2024 claims are even more of a wait, as other Apple leakers have said OLED iPads are coming as soon as next year. OLED could take its color and contrast to another level.
The current iPad Pro model with the Apple M2 chip launched in November 2022. We’ll probably see it next spring at Apple’s usual early product announcements, but even if it doesn’t, we’ll have WWDC in the summer and Apple’s typical fall product event as a launch opportunity.
New HomePod mini not in development
Mark Gurman had another interesting nugget of Apple info to share in the latest issue of Power On. That said, there’s apparently no sequel to his HomePod mini currently in the works at Apple.
After the surprise announcement of the new HomePod last week, an Apple fan turned to Gurman and asked if Apple’s tiny smart speaker, now more than two years old, had an update coming soon. Gourmand said he “[does not] We believe Apple is actively working on such a product,” he said, pointing out that the new HomePod doesn’t support features that the Mini didn’t have yet, so there’s no need to upgrade at this time. doing.
We haven’t tried the new HomePod yet, but when we do, we’ll be sure to share our thoughts on it and how it compares to the aging HomePod mini.