iPad Pro

My Wishes for the Next iPad Pro

The iPad is an essential device in my digital landscape. Even if I use it less than 20% of the time compared to my MacBook Air or Mac mini, it fills many important use cases. This is why I’m excited about what comes next.

JF Martin

Mar 6, 2024 — 2 min read

The new iPad Pro is just around the corner. After over a year, the 4th generation 11-inch iPad Pro came out in October 2022; the Pro line might be on the verge of the most crucial change since the Magic Keyboard and the second-gen Apple Pencil introduction. Here is what, as a 2018 11-inch iPad Pro owner wishing for an upgrade, I’m looking forward to:

The iPad is a slab of glass. It’s a touch screen for the most part. I want the best screen quality available. I love editing photos on the iPad, and the screen quality is critical. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro screen quality is ludicrous. I want something like this one but on a lower-sized iPad Pro. OLED or not.
I want TouchID on the power button, just like on the iPad Air. But I also want FaceID. Can we have both? It’s a Pro iPad, after all.
I want a bigger screen in the same device dimension, which means smaller bezels. I would love a few more millimetres of display space all around.
I want the same finish as my iPhone 15 Pro Max, with brushed metal and rounded edges. Does it need to be Titanium? Oh, and please, no glass back.
I want a lighter iPad. Holding the device with one hand for an extended period is hard on the wrist.
I want a bigger trackpad on the next-generation Magic Keyboard, which I also hope will be lighter.
I want longer battery life when using my new iPad Pro with my new Magic Keyboard.
I hope for a better way to attach the Apple Pencil to the device. Is a stringer magnet enough? Since 2018, I have lost one Apple Pencil, and my wife, who uses the same iPad model, has lost one, too. Could there be a way to integrate the pencil holder into a new smart folio case? If this case is called “smart,” let it hold the Apple Pencil, too!
I want two USB-C ports, yes, TWO. It’s the iPad PRO line, after all.
I’m okay with an M2 processor to keep prices low. The iPad is no computer replacement for serious workloads. Why bother putting the same CPU as in the MacBook Pro? The M2 should suffice.
Oh, if Apple bothers to include an M3, then I want the possibility to run a macOS virtual machine on it. Or why not reintroduce boot camp so I can use the iPad with macOS when I need it? Be wild here, Apple, be wild!
I would love more than system memory 8 GB for 512 GB of RAM configuration.
I want the FaceTime camera to be on the top while in landscape mode.
Can you make a black or dark colour version, just like for the MacBook Air? Please!
Bonus if Apple brings an always-on display to this iPad! One can dream, right?

As you can see, I have (too) many wishes for the next iPad Pro. I know Apple won’t provide a positive answer to each of them, but they are my wishes nonetheless. I can’t wait for the next iPad Pro chapter.