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2018 iPad Pros: two new models expected this year

Fans of Apple’s most impressive iPads, rejoice: the iPad Pro line looks set for a serious refresh in the next few months.

The big news, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, is that the iPad Pro line will adopt some of the features and design language of last year’s iPhone X. Namely, smaller bezels around the edge of the screen, and the addition of Face ID.

For the large 12.9-inch iPad Pro, this would result in a smaller device footprint, making it lighter and more portable than before. Meanwhile, the 10.5-inch model is expected to keep its existing footprint but increase the display size to a full 11 inches.

Both are expected to embrace FaceID in favor of TouchID, with the Home button disappearing along with the chunky bezels of years past. We don’t anticipate Apple adding a “notch” to the iPad Pro design, though anything’s possible!

A few tweaks to FaceID will make it work better for iPad – the ability to detect faces in landscape mode, and the ability to register more than one face per device. These changes are also expected to come to the iPhone with iOS 12.

Finally, there will of course be under-the-hood improvements this year. Kuo expects the 2018 iPad Pros to stick with 4GB of RAM but include a faster processor – possibly the A12 chip expected to arrive with the 2018 iPhones. We’re sure there will be some smaller improvements, too, which we’ll report on when these devices are officially released.

Speaking of which, nobody is quite sure when these will be released. It’s possible the new iPad Pros will be unveiled alongside the 2018 iPhone lineup in September – or, failing that, Apple may host a second event in October to focus on additional devices. With rumors of new Macs coming this year too, our money’s on the latter.