Apple May Include USB 3.0 Ports on Upcoming 12.9-Inch 'iPad Pro'

Following up on a report from earlier today claiming Apple has pushed back its plans for the so-called "iPad Pro", asking suppliers to begin production in September rather than this quarter, The Wall Street Journal weighs in with its own claim that Apple is indeed now targeting the second half of this year for the mass production of the device.

12_9_ipad_ipads_light

Mockup of iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini

Beyond timing, the report also claims Apple is still tweaking plans for the iPad Pro's design and feature set, with the company considering including USB 3.0 ports to accommodate data transfer and peripherals connectivity.

“Apple has continued to rework some of the features of the larger iPad. It is now considering the faster technology for data synchronization between the larger iPad and other computing devices,” said the person. [..]

The company has also been considering adding ports to connect to a keyboard and mouse, the people said.

Apple is reportedly also looking into ways to speed up charging time for the iPad Pro, as the device will almost certainly come with an even higher-capacity battery than the iPad Air family.

Finally, The Wall Street Journal's sources indicate the iPad Pro's display does indeed measure 12.9 inches diagonally, marking a substantial increase over the iPad Air family's 9.7-inch display. Rumors have been split between 12.9 inches and 12.2 inches for the iPad Pro's display.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

ErikGrim Avatar
128 months ago
"The company has also been considering adding ports to connect to a keyboard and mouse, the people said.”

That is literally the dumbest statement anyone in a world where wireless mice and keyboards have been the norm for more than a decade have made.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bb426 Avatar
128 months ago
Somehow, I really doubt this.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
128 months ago
In other news, sources claim next iMac will ship with a floppy disk drive.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BBCWatcher Avatar
128 months ago
"Adding ports to connect to a keyboard and mouse?" What is this, 1995? :eek:

I agree with JoEw. More believable would be a pair of reversible Type-C USB 3.1 ports. If somebody wants to hook a keyboard or mouse to one or both of those ports, fine, but they'd be at least somewhat more generalized than that.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Silver78 Avatar
128 months ago
The past year i've had a dream of the apple watch, iphone and 12" ipad.

Felt that those 3 things would fit me perfectly. But that was last year.

Honestly now the idea of 12" ipad is not a "wow" idea anymore but more like "well why not" and i would propably go for a 12" if i decide to replace my ipad 4.
But im no longer knocked of my feet by the thought of 12" ipad. Larger internet surfing screen and movie watching but the rest .... An extra set of icons on screen, the appstore destroyed by freemium crap and no real news in apps.

All the talk about mac air still going with 1400x900 resolution and no Macpad is so disappointing.

"Apple you are loosing me" first with the mac mini and now you are stalling progress with possible devices comming out 2015 that should have been on the streets in 2014.
Look at how the competition are spraying out gorgeous full OS tablets... Us applefans are getting an extra row of icons!?
I allready went with the intel NUC and my last ipad upgrade was a windows tablet instead.
I really really want to stay in apple land but apple you are making it very difficult
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
illegalprelude Avatar
128 months ago
Basically like most rumors, nobody has any idea what they're talking about. Only difference is that these guys can hide behind being an 'analyst.'
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)