Apple iPad Pro 2021 rumours: Specs, features, news and release date

Apple revealed the new iPad Pro line this time last year and a few months back we had the new iPad Air and a new entry-level 8th generation iPad.

So here's everything we have heard so far about the next-generation iPad Pro models which we expect to be launched over the coming weeks, a year on from the last refresh.

Release date

Apple has scheduled a Special Event for 20 April 2021. It will start at 6PM BST in London, 10AM in the US West Coast and 1PM on the US East Coast.

You can read about how to watch the event in our separate feature, but the new iPad Pros are expected, alongside Apple AirTags and possibly the third generation of Apple AirPods.

Design and display

• Same design expected
• Mini-LED displays mentioned

We're not expecting the new iPad Pro to undergo a full design change - it's more likely there will be beefed-up internals - see below - and a new display. Given that LiDAR tech appeared inside the previous models and also came to the iPhone 12 series, we're not expecting a big change in the camera tech used. 

There have been several reports suggesting Apple might adopt Mini-LED displays for some models of the next generation of iPads. We now believe this will come to the iPad Pro line as thought. 

Hardware and software

• Upgraded version of the Apple A14 Bionic processor from latest iPad Air
• iPadOS 14 once again

The latest iPad Air comes with the A14 Bionic platform and we expect an upgraded version of that chip to come to the iPad Pro, perhaps as the A14X Bionic. 

It's likely there will be Wi-Fi and Cellular and Wi-Fi only options of both iPads but there may be a switch to 5G support as well as 4G - which is what we have in the iPhone 12. We would expect a similar lineup in terms of storage models as the current models, though we may say goodbye to the 128GB model if the 256GB model becomes the new entry-level.

iPadOS 14 was revealed in June and launched in September so this will feature on any new iPad Pro. Read more about it in our separate feature. iPadOS 14 introduces a sidebar in apps so you can drag and drop files more easily, while there are also the same widgets that you can get in iOS 14. But it doesn't support App Library that we've seen in the new iPhone software. While iPadOS does support widgets, they're in a sidebar on the home screen rather than being able to be placed anywhere on the home screen as in iOS 14. 

Apple iPad Pro rumours: What's happened so far?

Here's everything we have heard so far about the next iPad models.

13 April 2021: Apple Event confirmed: Here's when we'll get a new iPad Pro, iMac, AirTags

Apple sent out invites to an event on 20 April 2021. The tagline for the event was "Spring Loaded", suggesting lots of devices or announcements. No further details were provided though.

9 April 2021 - iPad Pro and iPad mini set to retain their older designs

A leak of dummy versions of the upcoming iPad Pro and iPad mini devices reveals that not only will the iPad Pro retain its current design, but the iPad mini will do, too. 

23 March 2021 - References to A14X chip appear in iOS code

According to 9to5Mac, the latest iOS beta refers to a new '13G' chip which most likely corresponds to the forthcoming hardware inside the latest iPad Pro. Again there's a suggestion is that it could approach the power of the M1 processor inside the recent Apple Silicon Macs. 

18 March 2021 - Are they coming in April? 

A new report from Bloomberg suggests the new iPad Pros might arrive in April with a new iPad mini also expected this year. There's also a suggestion that they'll have a Thunderbolt 3 port instead of a standard USB-C. There may also be improved cameras. 

11 March 2021 - A case is spotted

A Speck case was spotted in a Target store in the US that lists a 2021 11-inch Apple iPad model on the box, alongside the iPad Pro (2018, 2020) and last year's iPad Air. Will there be a new standard 11-inch iPad? And why is the 2021 iPad Pro not mentioned? 

5 March 2021 - The 2022 iPad is set to have an OLED display

A new report from DigiTimes has suggested Apple could introduce OLED displays to both the iPad and MacBook Pro range in 2022, starting with a 10.9-inch model of the iPad.

1 March 2021 - M1-quality CPU coming to the iPad Pro, claims report

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that the iPad Pro will come with "a new processor" that's "on par with the M1 chip in the latest Macs". He also claimed that it will come with "5G" and "better cameras".

19 February 2021: Will there be another Apple event on 16 March? 

Rumours have surfaced of an Apple launch on 16 March that may see the launch of the long-awaited AirTags trackers as well as the new 2021 iPad Pro series. 

21 January 2021: Will we also get a new iPad mini?

It will be two years since the iPad mini was refreshed - rumours now point to an iPad Air and Pro-style full-size screen display for the smallest Apple tablet. This would most likely boast Face ID. A separate rumour suggests the device will come with an 8.4-inch display. 

13 January 2021: Leaked renders surface showing the rough design of the 2021 iPad Pro

The factory CAD (computer-aided design) renders of the exterior suggest a similar design to the existing iPad Pro series. It looks very much like there will be a Mini-LED display on the new iPad Pro, leaving OLED for 2022 as was also suggested in December 2020. 

8 January 2021: More suggestions that Mini LED is on the way

Reports are circulating that both the iPad Pro and MacBook Air will get Mini LED during 2021, although they are seemingly on very different timelines. Mini LED might only come to the bigger 12.9-inch iPad Pro according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara. 

10 November 2020: Another Apple Event, but it was for the Mac

Apple held an event on 10 November, when it introduced the first Macs running on Apple Silicon - the Apple M1-based Mac mini, MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. 

15 September 2020: Apple refreshes some iPads 

The next generation of the iPad Air and entry-level iPad were revealed at Apple's Special Event alongside the Apple Watch Series 6 and SE. The iPad Air is basically an iPad Pro-lite, with the big difference being Touch ID - re-sited on the on/off/wake button - rather than Face ID which appears to be the preserve of the iPad Pro. 

26 August 2020: New iPad model numbers spotted

It looks very much like we're going to get a refresh of all non-Pro iPads - A2270, A2072, A2316, A2324, A2325, A2428, A2429. That looks very much like a refreshing and re-aligning of the complete lineup with the possible exception of the iPad mini. The model numbers were spotted on the EEC database where devices are ratified for sale in Russia and other countries. 

26 June 2020: iPadOS 14 brings keyboard, mouse and trackpad support for games

Also announced during Apple's developer conference was the ability for game developers to support the iPad's trackpad and keyboard (as well as mouse control) in future titles. Additional gamepads will also be supported including the Xbox One Elite 2 Wireless Controller and the accessible Xbox Adaptive Controller.

22 June 2020: iPadOS 14 announced

Like iOS 14, the new version of iPadOS was announced at Apple's developer conference and has data-rich widgets and other enhancements. But iPadOS goes further than iOS and many apps now have a sidebar so you can drag and drop more easily - for example in Music and Files.

Many apps also have a new Tools menu at the top of the screen to free up space at the bottom. And also in iOS and iPad OS incoming call notifications no longer take up the whole screen so you can easily dismiss them if you're working on something else. 

4 June 2020: Early 2021 iPad Pro expected to come with 5G and MiniLED displays

The MiniLED display rumour has been around for a while, but this report is a little different in that it says the 2021 iPad Pro will boast the Qualcomm X55 modem for 5G cellular connectivity instead of 4G LTE. They will also have a new A14X processor, which isn't a big leap to surmise. 

15 May 2020: Upgrades to iPad Air and mini expected in late 2020 or early 2021

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests there will be a new 10.8-inch iPad (presumably to replace the iPad Air) and a new iPad mini that would clock in between the 8.5 and 9-inch size. That means it would have a screen at least half an inch bigger than the current iPad mini display. 

16 April 2020: Mini-LED iPads could be delayed until 2021, could be 5G

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that a new iPad featuring Mini-LED could be delayed until early 2021. This may not be for any reason other than we have already had an iPad Pro refresh in 2020 and so it makes sense to space things out because the iPad Pro is the most likely to get the new display. At that point, a new iPad Pro at that point is likely to be released with 5G on board.

2 December 2019: Could new iPads have Mini-LED displays?

This report - via 9to5Mac - suggested that upcoming iPad displays will switch to Mini-LED and that other products will also go the same way, with the MacBook Pro 16-inch also switching to the upgraded tech during 2020, possibly at the same time as a MacBook Pro 14-inch is launched to replace the current 13-inch. 

It was also suggested new iPads could be based around a beefed-up Apple A14X processor. 

4 October 2019: Apple might have a haptic on-screen keyboard in the future so you can feel the 'keys'

Could Apple have a tactile touchscreen keyboard on its iPads in the future? A patent, discovered by Patently Apple, shows a next-gen haptics tech known as Static Pattern Electrostatic Haptic Electrodes. A variety of voltages could be applied which would make typing on the device feel different.

The site said such efforts could mean that touchscreen keyboards could, in future, potentially emulate the feel of more traditional keyboards - even with concave-feeling 'keys' - so users would be able to find their place on the keyboard without looking down at it. 

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