Apple is planning to expand its iPad lineup with a larger tablet, which the media has taken to referring to as the “iPad Pro.” Expected to measure in at 12.2 to 12.9 inches, the iPad Pro will be Apple’s largest tablet, dwarfing both the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 and the 7.9-inch iPad mini 3. At 12.2 to 12.9 inches, the iPad Pro would be closest in size to the 13-inch MacBook Air.

It is unclear what moniker Apple plans to bestow on its larger-screened iPad, but the media has taken to calling it the “iPad Pro. A recent report from Mac Fan suggests it might be called the “iPad Air Plus,” after the iPhone 6 Plus and the iPad Air.

While rumors on the larger iPad are somewhat scarce, it’s believed the tablet will closely resemble the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3, offering a thin chassis and slim bezels. The iPad Pro may measure in at 7mm, and it will likely include several iPad Air 2 features like 2GB of RAM, Touch ID, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

 

It may also ship with an “ultra” high-resolution display and speakers and microphones at both the top and bottom edges of the device, creating an improved stereo audio experience. It could also feature an optional stylus accessory, and perhaps even USB 3.0 ports.

Rumors of a larger iPad first surfaced in mid-2013, suggesting Apple was working to expand its iPad lineup with a bigger offering aimed primarily at its enterprise customers.

Mockup of 12.9-inch iPad Pro next to 13-inch MacBook AirNews of the iPad Pro’s development continued throughout 2013 and early 2014, but slowed somewhat in mid-2014 after rumors indicated Apple had shelved the project to focus its work on other products.

In August, news of the iPad Pro surfaced again, with Bloomberg indicating that Apple would launch the larger-screened device in early 2015 in an effort to “shake up the iPad line” and boost declining sales, but an October report from The Wall Street Journal suggested Apple was delaying mass production of the tablet to produce more iPhone 6 Plus devices.

In November, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that improving component yields for iPad Pro’s high-resolution oxide LCD panel would take some time, pushing mass production back until the second quarter of 2015 and thereby delaying the tablet’s launch until later in 2015. Continued display challenges have reportedly forced Apple to push back its internal timeline, with the company now asking its manufacturing partners to begin mass production in September 2015.

DISPLAY

Early rumors pointed towards a 12.9-inch display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 and 265 pixels-per-inch (ppi), although some rumors have suggested the iPad Pro might be 12.2 inches rather than 12.9 inches. The most recent report from The Wall Street Journal maintains the device will carry a 12.9-inch display.

Mockup of 12.9-inch iPad (left) with fourth-generation iPad (right) and iPad miniNews from the Asian supply chain has suggested that the iPad Pro will offer a higher pixel density than the iPad Air 2, nearing high-definition quality.

DESIGN

The iPad Pro will likely adopt many of the design elements found in the current iPad, including an ultra thin chassis and narrow side bezels. Apple has been hard at work slimming down its products, and the iPad Pro may measure in at 7 mm, which is slightly thicker than the 6.1 mm iPad Air 2 and the 6.9 mm iPhone 6, but slightly thinner than the 7.1 mm iPhone 6 Plus.

A recent video explores what the iPad Pro might look like compared to Apple’s other iPads. The video uses prospective dimensions of 305.31mm x 220.8mm x 7mm, or 12 inches x 8.7 inches x 0.28 inches, published by Mac Fan.

 

According to several rumors, the iPad Pro will include microphones and speakers on both the top and bottom of the device for an improved stereo audio experience.

PROCESSOR AND RAM

According to most rumors, the iPad Pro will ship with the triple-core A8X processor that was introduced with the iPad Air 2. Positioned as an upgrade to the A8 processor that was introduced with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the A8X offers some significant performance improvements. According to a Geekbench 3 multi-core benchmark, the A8X processor in the iPad Air 2 is up to 55 percent faster than the A8 processor in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Though the majority of rumors thus far have suggested the iPad Pro will use the same A8X processor introduced with the iPad Air 2, one rumor has indicated that Apple has plans to introduce an updated, more powerful A9 processor in the device.

The iPad Air 2 was the first of Apple’s mobile devices to ship with 2GB of RAM, and it is likely that the iPad Pro will also include 2GB of RAM.

OTHER FEATURES

The iPad Pro is may adopt many features found in the iPad Air 2, including 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is twice as fast as 802.11n Wi-Fi, and LTE Advanced in Cellular + Wi-Fi models, taking advantage of carrier aggregation to offer LTE connection speeds of up to 120 Mbps.

Like the iPad Air 2, the iPad Pro will probably offer a motion coprocessor with several sensors, including a gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS, barometer, and compass functionality, and while it’s likely to gain a front-facing FaceTime HD camera, a rear camera is somewhat more questionable as such a large device would not be particularly portable.

Touch ID, which Apple has been building into all of its mobile devices since the iPhone 5s, will almost certainly be included with the iPad Pro both to enable Apple Pay in apps and to add the convenience of unlocking the device with a fingerprint.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPad Pro could ship with an optional stylus accessory given Apple’s desire to target the tablet towards the enterprise market. It’s not clear what such a stylus would be used for beyond simple note taking and sketching, but Kuo predicts that it would charge via a Lightning connector.

Apple is said to still be refining its plans for the iPad Pro, with The Wall Street Journal claiming the company is considering including USB 3.0 ports on the device, a move that could make it more appealing to the enterprise market Apple is said to be trying to target.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Apple’s iPad Pro is expected to ship with a version of iOS 8, the company’s newest operating system that debuted in September. Apple may be planning to introduce some upgrades to iOS 8 that could come alongside the launch of the iPad Pro, including split-screen multitasking.

The company is reportedly developing split-screen multitasking with both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Pro in mind, allowing users to run two apps side-by-side on a single screen. Code suggest the two apps could either split the screen half-and-half or one could take up 3/4 of the screen while the other runs in the remaining 1/4.

 

Split-screen multitasking demo from developer Steven Troughton-SmithSplit-screen multitasking was not ready for iOS 8’s release, but it could come in an iOS 8.2 or iOS 8.3 update, both of which Apple is working on.

A questionable rumor has suggested the iPad Pro could offer an iOS/OS X hybrid operating system, but this is unlikely as Apple executives have said time and time again that there are no plans to integrate iOS and OS X.

An image said to depict an iPad Pro dummy used for creating cases and other accessories surfaced in May, and while the legitimacy of the model can’t be confirmed, it does give a look at how a larger 12.9-inch tablet might look in-hand.

iPad Pro leaks began picking up in January of 2015, with an internal sketch said to be sourced from Foxconn surfacing on January 4 and an image of what could be a mold for the rear shell of the tablet surfacing on January 8.

It is not clear whether the mold is designed for an actual iPad Pro shell or if it is used to create dummy units such as the one that showed up in a photo last May.

While it’s not exactly a part leak, a case said to be for the iPad Pro surfaced in January. It’s the appropriate size for a 12.2 to 12.9-inch tablet and has four speaker cutouts to accommodate the device’s rumored stereo speakers. There are also cutouts for a headphone jack at the top left of the case, volume buttons at the right, a camera cutout at the back, a Lightning port cutout at the bottom, and a power button cutout on the top right, all of which is in line with previous iPad Air and iPad mini designs.

There is an unknown cutout on the left side of the case, but that may be for a SIM tray as the design drawings this case was likely based on did not show any type of port in that area. Cases designed for unannounced devices are not always entirely accurate, but tend to get general design elements and measurements correct.

A second image of a case said to be for the iPad Pro has surfaced, showing many of the same design elements. One notable difference, however, is the lack of a cutout on the left side, suggesting that the presence of the cutout on the first case above is indeed for a SIM card and not some other type of port.

The second purported iPad Pro case was photographed next to an iPad Air case, giving us a good idea of how large the iPad Pro might be compared to the existing 9.7-inch iPad Air 2.

3D modeler and designer Martin Hajek recently created concept renderings imagining what the iPad Pro might look like upon release based on rumors that have circulated about the device as well as some possible design drawings originally leaked in November.

The renderings depict the tablet itself and a stylus that has been rumored to be included with it.

An August report from Bloomberg suggested Apple planned to release the iPad Pro in early 2015, but an October report from The Wall Street Journal indicated that Apple delayed its planned December mass production of the larger tablet in order to focus its attention on producing more iPhone 6 Plus units to meet demand.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that difficulties ramping up display components will prevent the tablet from entering mass production until the second quarter of 2015, and most recently The Wall Street Journal has claimed Apple is targeting September 2015 for the start of mass production, suggesting it could launch around Apple’s typical October iPad refresh cycle.