The new iPad Pro 2021 model is expected to be available soon. But how will Apple entice shoppers to spend $1,000 or more on a new iPad? The big change, we're told, is in the content.

These changes may include new screen technology, an Apple M1 chip, and faster cellular connectivity. If so, the upcoming iPad Pro will easily maintain its place on our best tablets list.

The new iPad Pro is expected to be released in March 2021, like last year's update. Not only does this date make sense given recent history, but it was also announced on the Japanese news site Macotakara.

March is one of Apple's primary iPad release windows; the company has announced a new iPad in March since 2016. The most recent example is the previous iPad Pro model, which added a LiDAR camera and A12Z Bionic processor.

Current buzz points to the new iPad Pro being announced at Apple's Spring 2021 event. This is due to the fact that the regular iPad has been released in the fall for two consecutive years and Apple's practice of not announcing a new iPad Pro at the same event that it announces a new iPad.

Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro ($750) and 12.9-inch iPad Pro ($999) are expected to remain priced the same. The past two generations of iPad Pro tablets have stuck to this pricing structure, and everything we are seeing suggests it will continue.

The introduction of the mid-range iPad Air gives Apple no reason to lower the iPad Pro price. Likewise, Apple doesn't seem to be adding much to the iPad Pro this year that would give it an excuse to charge more.

The big rumors about the iPad Pro 2021 speak to Apple's focus on the tablet's internal components. Since last year, there has been speculation that the iPad Pro will be Apple's first iPad with 5G, and now that the iPhone 12 has 5G, it is logical that Apple would want to use that component in the iPad Pro as well.

Deeper in the post from Pigtou, a casemaker and rendering publisher, there are further rumors of internal upgrades, although the focus is primarily on iPad Pro renderings. The new iPad Pro may feature the M1 version of the Apple Silicon chip found in the MacBook Air. It could also feature an upgraded version of the A12Z chip found in the current iPad Pro, which could be called the A13Z.

According to MacOtakara, Apple is leaving most of the "chassis design" of the new iPad Pro unchanged. In other words, it is expected to look the same as the previous iPad Pro, with just a few tweaks, such as a slightly slimmer bezel and fewer speaker holes. There may also be less of a camera bump sticking out.

Many of the similarities between the 2020 iPad Pro and the iPad Pro 2021 can be traced to leaked renderings of the new iPad Pro design.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 will be 0.5 mm thicker, which may be hard to notice to the untrained eye. Nevertheless, it may allow Apple to switch from its current display technology to a mini LED screen.

The iPad Pro has been rumored since last summer to be produced with mini LED panels. This change would allow Apple to move away from LCD displays and provide a higher contrast ratio, higher fidelity black tones, and improved brightness. This will be possible thanks to smaller LEDs, as the name Mini LED suggests.

The patent also suggests that Apple may also be considering a new Magic Keyboard. A close reading of the patent suggests that the Magic Keyboard could include a microphone, which could be used for better audio during video conferencing.

Let's talk about what else could be going on under the hood of the iPad Pro 2021. We'd like to see Apple put a Touch ID fingerprint sensor under the screen; the iPad Air's lock-button fingerprint reader is a nifty touch, but a fingerprint reader under the screen would prevent the iPad Air from cannibalizing iPad Pro sales by prevent it from cannibalizing iPad Pro sales.

An unlikely change is a foldable display. But having seen Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold, we are interested to see what Apple does with the foldable iPad. That's one big way for the iPad Pro to continue to stand out. Of course, it could easily raise its price as well.