Report: new iPad mini Pro, 10.1″ iPad Pro & updated 12.9″ model due in Spring 2017

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Japanese blog Mac Otakara has heard from reliable sources that Apple is gearing up to refresh its iPad lineup in Spring of 2017 with an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, a new 10.1-inch model joining the lineup and a fifth-generation iPad mini, which should gained the ‘Pro’ moniker and be marketed by Apple simply as the 7.9-inch iPad mini Pro.

For the most part, the outlet corroborated a previous report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with one major difference: Kuo claimed Apple would be releasing a 10.5-inch model iPad Pro model next year, not the 10.1-inch device mentioned in Mac Otakara’s report.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro should gain a twelve-megapixel iSight camera (the same as on the iPhone 7?), as well as True Tone flash and wide color gamut P3 display, both of which are found on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

The next iPad mini is said to be called the 7.9-inch iPad Pro. That device, according to Mac Otakara’s sources, should come outfitted with a Smart Connector and a four-speaker setup as found on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, plus a twelve-megapixel iSight camera, True Tone flash and wide color P3 display.

As for a rumored new 10.1-inch iPad Pro model, the report states that the device will be 1 centimeter longer and 0.5cm wider than the 9.7-inch iPads. The report adds that all three iPad models coming in 2017 will have four microphones, presumably to improve Siri reception in both landscape and portrait orientation.

Lastly, Mac Otakara is adamant that the upcoming iPads won’t drop the 3.55 mm headphone jack like the iPhone 7 series has. The devices should release in Spring 2017.

Source: Mac Otakara (Google Translate)