When it comes to Apple products, it is common for the less expensive models to inherit features from the more expensive models with each new generation. However, rumors are growing that the upcoming 2024 iPad Pro will buck this trend by adopting a design change first introduced in the more affordable iPad 10, namely a side-facing camera on the front of the tablet.

This lends credence to this well-circulated rumor, according to evidence recently shared by prominent Apple leaker Instant Digital on Chinese social media platform Weibo, as first spotted by MacRumors, which shows that the new Instant Digital post, which includes images of what the iPad will look like, suggests that Apple plans to move the entire TrueDepth camera array to the right side of the device. The microphone, on the other hand, will remain at the top, but will be newly centered.

This potential design change initially came to light in January when iPadOS 17.4 beta code suggested that the iPad Pro's Face ID sensor would be moved from the top of the device when held in portrait mode and to the top when held in landscape mode. The code stated that "during Face ID setup, the iPad must be in landscape orientation and the camera must be at the top of the screen." Earlier this month, Instant Digital predicted that the iPad Air 6 would see this same design change.

Face ID has been placed on the short side of the display since its debut on the iPad Pro in 2018, in order to match the portrait-first design that the iPad has employed since the beginning. However, this approach has not kept pace with the way tablet usage has evolved over time. Today, it is common to use tablets in landscape orientation as a device for streaming and video calling. Other devices on our best tablets list have shifted their cameras to reflect this: the 10th generation iPad, released in 2022, was the first to feature a selfie camera on the side of the iPad, something no other Apple tablet has done since .

While it is not Apple's usual practice to bring features from its standard models to its high-end models, this is a promising development: in his review of the iPad 10, our global editor-in-chief, Mark Spoonauer, called the camera's move to the long side a "welcome change," noting that "especially allows for more natural video calling in landscape mode when the iPad is docked in the Magic Keyboard Folio."

The iPad family could take a big leap forward in 2024 after no new models in 2023; new iPad Air and iPad Pro models are expected within the next few weeks.