Apple has yet to announce the iPad Pro 2024, but rumors and reports suggest that it could be announced in May, or just before the big WWDC event in 2024.

So far we have only heard rumors and hearsay, but it seems inevitable that Apple will release an updated version of its premium tablet, especially since no new iPad was introduced in 2023. The new iPad Pro is rumored to receive a significant upgrade along with the rest of the iPad series.

So far, the iPad Pro 2024 is said to (eventually) feature an OLED panel and a landscape-facing camera. The massive slate is also expected to feature the Apple M3 chip and a thinner design. We also hear that the Magic Keyboard peripheral will be updated to make the iPad Pro function like the best MacBooks.

The five major features rumored so far as upgrades for the iPad Pro are.

Screen enthusiasts like our own Dave Meikleham have been clamoring for an OLED iPad Pro upgrade, and it looks like it's about to happen; Apple experts like Bloomberg's Mark Gurman have long said that an OLED iPad Pro is on the way, he said. Now the biggest upgrade to the iPad Pro 2024 may be confirmed by the iPadOS 17.5 beta.

9to5Mac examined the beta code and found references to four unannounced iPad models. The models in question are labeled iPad 16,3, iPad 16,4, iPad 16,5, and iPad 16,6. The site believes that these are identifiers for the rumored iPad Pro 2024, which corresponds to two different model sizes, a Wi-Fi model and a cellular model.

The iPadOS 17.5 beta code also suggests that these iPads will launch with an OLED display and that two different sized screens will be offered by different manufacturers. On this last point, rumors suggest that LG will supply the 12.9-inch panel for the larger iPad Pro, while LG and Samsung will manufacture the 11-inch panel for the smaller iPad Pro.

The OLED panel will be a significant improvement over the current mini LED panel on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. According to Bloomberg reporter and Apple informant Mark Gurman, the panel will be "crisper and brighter" and "more accurate It should "reproduce colors better. The OLED panel would also put the iPad Pro's display on a more even footing with Samsung's Galaxy S9 Ultra, which uses the same panel technology.

Another major upgrade to the iPad Pro 2024 is the inclusion of an M3 chip. This is not shocking, given that the current model is powered by an M2 processor. Nevertheless, an M3-equipped iPad Pro would make the 2024 model the most powerful iPad ever.

Apple's M3 chip utilizes TSMC's 3nm process, which brings significant improvements in efficiency and speed. This is something we saw firsthand when we tested and benchmarked the MacBook Pro 14-inch M3, MacBook Air 13-inch M3, and MacBook Air 15-inch M3. While the evolution from M2 to M3 is not phenomenal, the leap from M1 to M3 is very significant, with performance gains of up to 60%.

It has been said for years that the iPad Pro would be a laptop replacement; the M2 iPad Pro came close to that reality, and the iPad Pro 2024 could make it happen. Of course, there are other factors involved, such as making the iPadOS run more like macOS and improving the Magic Keyboard (more on this later). In any case, an iPad Pro with M3 will be a big deal.

The iPad has historically placed its front camera on the short side of the display. That may have been fine when Apple first launched the tablet, but nowadays people tend to use tablets in landscape or horizontal mode. Having the front camera positioned on the right or left side of the tablet (depending on how it is held and placed) is not intuitive when it is in landscape mode.

Thankfully, one rumor suggests that the iPad Pro 2024 may take design cues from the iPad 10 in the form of a horizontal camera on the front of the tablet.

Apple leaker Instant Digital posted an alleged image of the iPad Pro on Chinese social media platform Weibo (via MacRumors). The image in question shows that the entire TrueDepth camera array of the iPad Pro 2024 will be placed on the right side of the tablet, with the microphone remaining at the top but newly centered.

In January of this year, 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, "During Face ID setup, the iPad should be in landscape orientation and the camera should be at the top of the screen."

The iPad 10 currently has the front camera at the top in portrait mode, so it would not be surprising if the iPad Pro followed suit.

The iPad Pro 2024 is not expected to undergo any major design changes to its overall profile. However, leaked CAD renderings of the iPad Pro (via PocketNow) suggest that Apple plans to make its largest tablet thinner than previous models.

Rumors suggest that the 11-inch iPad Pro 2024 will be 0.20 inches thick, compared to 0.23 inches for the current model; the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is expected to be 0.19 inches thick, down from 0.25 inches. This may not seem like much, but it could make the giant tablet easier to hold for longer periods of time.

This is related to the rumored OLED display; since OLED screens are inherently thin, it makes sense that the new iPad Pro would be thinner as a result. This should also affect the weight of the tablet. Currently, the 11-inch iPad weighs just over a pound, while the larger 12.9-inch iPad weighs as much as 1.5 pounds. A lighter weight would make the iPad Pro easier to hold for longer periods of time.

The Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is an essential peripheral if you use your tablet for work or simply do not like to type on the tablet's on-screen digital keyboard. While there have been no major changes to the Magic Keyboard in the past, it appears that the Magic Keyboard will finally be available with the release of the iPad Pro.

According to Mark Gurman, the Magic Keyboard will look reminiscent of Apple's laptops. As such, the peripheral will reportedly have an aluminum finish that gives it a MacBook-like appearance. The touchpad will also reportedly be large, similar to Apple's laptops. This will further realize the dream of making the iPad Pro a laptop replacement.

Speaking of iPad Pro peripherals, there are rumors that the Apple Pencil 3 will be released this year, and according to what 9to5Mac discovered in the aforementioned iPadOS 17.5 beta code, the still unreleased Apple Pencil has a new "squeeze" feature There are traces of a new "squeeze" feature in the as-yet-unreleased Apple Pencil. This is very likely the rumored Apple Pencil 3. The site also suggests that the stylus may have a replaceable magnetic chip.