Apple fans might have just gotten a glimpse at a forthcoming device from the iPad manufacturer, as a new partial image of a supposed iPad Pro has hit the internet. Is it real, though? Well, sussing that out is a bit harder than just a yes or no.
This week is bound to be full of news regarding just about any company other than Apple, as the rest of the tech world is gathering in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, but that hasn’t stopped at least one possible Apple leak from slipping through. French site NoWhereElse claims to have gotten its hands on a picture of either a render of an iPad Pro or a shot of iPad Pro components being made.
It’s not a whole lot to go on, but NowhereElse has in fact reliably gotten its hands on iPad and iPhone components in the past, so it’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility that we’re looking at an as yet unrevealed iPad , and possibly even an iPad Pro.
Just what can we learn from this “leaked” iPad Pro image? Not too much, aside from the fact that, if it is truly a shot of an iPad Pro, it doesn’t look like Apple is going to be tweaking the design of the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini too much when it comes out with a larger iPad version. It does appear that Apple’s iPad Pro will feature an extra set of speakers along the top of the device, which is in keeping with what’s been rumored about the iPad Pro for some time.
As to thickness, the iPad Pro is said to be between 6.9 and 7.5 millimeters thick. That’s in keeping with the thickness range for Apple’s current iPads.
Of course, what’s not revealed at all is the biggest question regarding the iPad Pro: Just what will Apple be adding to the device to make it “Pro”? A bigger screen just wouldn’t do it, and it seems unlikely that Apple would simply introduce a bigger iPad to further fragment its tablet offerings, especially when the tablet market on the whole appears to be stalling.
The consensus among tech rumormongers appears to be that Apple will be introducing some sort of iPad Pro at some point this year, as part of a slate of 2015 products that will see Apple entering new product segments and redefining others. Of course, since it’s Apple, none of this is absolutely certain until Tim Cook takes the stage and shows us a physical product. If you’re holding out for a new iPad, though, or weighing a possible Surface Pro 3 purchase , you might want to hold off just a bit: We might have just gotten our first glimpse at a new contender in the touchscreen productivity segment.
