iPad Pro With Thunderbolt and Mini-LED Display Coming 'As Early As April'

Apple will introduce new iPads as early as April, according to a new report shared today by Bloomberg. The April date comes following incorrect rumors that Apple planned to hold an event on March 23.

iPad Pro Mini LED yellow
Apple will refresh its iPad Pro lineup, introducing new models that "look similar to the current iPad Pros" in the same 11 and 12.9-inch screen sizes. The two iPads are expected to feature an updated A14X processor that's "on par" with the M1 chip in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini, along with better cameras.

A mini-LED display will be included with "at least" the larger 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, with the display upgrade bringing improved brightness and contrast ratios. This is in line with many rumors that we've heard previously, and most of the information suggests the upgraded display technology will be limited to the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Apple has tested ‌iPad‌ Pros with a Thunderbolt connector that would make them compatible with additional external monitors, hard drives, and peripherals, plus it brings faster data syncing speeds. Apple's Mac machines have featured Thunderbolt technology for years now, but current ‌iPad Pro‌ and iPad Air models have standard USB-C ports.

Later this year, Apple plans to refresh its cheapest ‌iPad‌, and Apple is also working on a new version of the iPad mini with a larger display.

There was a lot of chatter suggesting Apple would hold a March event to introduce new ‌iPad‌ models, AirPods 3, and perhaps AirTags, but those rumors were never confirmed by a reliable source like Bloomberg or Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. With ‌iPad Pro‌ models launching in April and the AirPods 3 now set for the third-quarter of 2021 based on rumors from earlier this week, it looks like there will be no March announcement.

Related Roundups: iPad, iPad Pro, iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad

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Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
60 months ago
1st week of April? Who's ready to order one?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
James Godfrey Avatar
60 months ago
Right so Mark Gurman first says there won’t end up being a March 16th event, and clarified that he only meant an event on March 16th... but did not discount March entirely....

So I am thinking just like last year when an event was rumoured and it ended up just being an invite to an event, we are seeing history repeating itself...

23rd March - Invites
30th March - Event
2nd April - iPad Pro Starts Shipping
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr.Simple Avatar
60 months ago
Please also mini LED Display for the 11 Pro. I think the 12.9 Pro will be to big for me.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sully54 Avatar
60 months ago
I love the mad scramble over the last couple of weeks to narrow down an event date in March, and then when yesterday came and went, everyone is now talking about April like that's what they meant all along.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
reallynotnick Avatar
60 months ago

Apple's Mac machines have included Thunderbolt ports since 2016
*Thunderbolt ports with a USB-C connector (thunderbolt goes way further back than 2016 with the miniDP type connector)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WiseAJ Avatar
60 months ago

And iPhone still cant get standard USB-C.
And it never will
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)