Rumors about Apple's upcoming 2018 iPad line have
been rather frequent lately. While not intrinsically bad, the reports of
expected design and functionality have also been all over the place, making it
hard to pinpoint anything with certainty.
While this is still very much the case, 6to5Mac have
continuously been digging through code in the iOS 12 beta and do appear to have
some conclusions. First off, both an icon asset and a split screen device
simulation seem to show a new iPad Pro with rounded display corners. The icon
or glyph was found as a part of the battery usage UI in iOS. It clearly shows a
modern look for the tablet, with thin bezels, no home button and also,
interestingly enough, no notch.
Further digging in the code, unveiled an asset meant
to round corners in some UI elements. The name of the asses in question
mentions the J3XX model notation, which denotes a 2018 iPad. Then there is the multi-tasking
UI, as shown on an iOS Simulator (from the development environment), running
iOS 12. It also has rounded corners and no notch. Of course, since this is a
dev tool, in beta, it could be subject to change. Still, we think that
something as important as a notch would have been included, to ensure proper UI
design and optimization.
The real confusing bit comes from the fact that
previous rumors have already mentioned that advanced facial recognition tech
would appear in the upcoming iPad Pro lineup. That, in tern, should require a
notch. At least with current Face ID implementations. 9to5Mac also confirmed, through
a couple of other iOS code snippets, that the J3XX iPad Pro will, indeed,
support Face ID. As well as that the latter will also be able to operate in
horizontal mode.
The best explanation
we could come up with is potentially a notch on one of the iPad Pro models and
no notch on another. As per the leak, mentioned earlier, the iPad Pros, will,
indeed, come in a 10.5-inch variant and a 12.9-inch one. Their reduced overall
footprints are also quoted: The 10.5-inch model will go from 250.6 x 174.1 x
6.1mm down to 247.5 x 178.7 x 6mm while the 12.9-inch one will get an even more
extreme side cut - from 305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9mm down to 280 x 215 x 6.4.
Other alleged bits and pieces of information we know
include the removal of the 3.5mm audio jack from the tablets. Potentially,
without even bundling a Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter in the box. Also, the
designers have, reportedly, moved the Smart Connectors to the lower rear side
of the devices.
Unfortunately, there is still some waiting to be
done, until Cupertino unveils the new iPad Pros, this year. Assuming a standard
Apple release schedule, we first have new iPhone models to look forward to in
September.
