The iPad Pro 2024 appears to be a significant upgrade due to evidence found in iOS 17.4 beta code by developer Steve Moser (via MacRumors) indicating that the Face ID sensor and front camera have been relocated.

A text string found in the code makes the alleged change fairly obvious. It goes like this: "During FaceID setup, the iPad must be in landscape orientation and the camera must be at the top of the screen." Since the iPad Pro series is currently the only iPad with Face ID instead of Touch ID, the next iPad Pro will change the position of the front-facing camera.

Since Apple introduced Face ID on the iPad Pro in 2018, it has been positioned on the short side of the display. Moving the camera to 90 degrees around the face of the next iPad Pro would make it more like the 10th generation iPad released in 2022. This model was the first iPad model to have the selfie camera on the long side.

Since the iPad was designed from the beginning as a portrait-first device, it made sense to place the camera on the short side. However, the way tablets are used has changed over time, and they are increasingly used in landscape orientation for watching videos and making video calls. As a result, other devices on the Best Tablets list have also changed their camera placement, but other than the latest basic iPad, no other iPad has yet made such a change.

The iPad family could take a big leap forward in 2024, as no new iPad models were released at all in 2023. Not only will a new model finally be released this spring, or more specifically in April, but there may be other major changes besides the relocation of the iPad Pro's camera.

The iPad Pro may feature an OLED display for the first time, another tablet design trend that Apple has yet to adopt. It is also possible that a new iPad Air model will be announced in the coming months, perhaps a larger 12.9-inch model along with the Pro, which would further revamp Apple's lineup of slate devices more thoroughly.