Apple coverage has alternated back and forth between the iPhone and the HomePod in recent months, but it looks like another product line will soon steal the spotlight. This week, French blog Consomac spotted filings which indicate that Apple has been granted approval by the Eurasian Economic Commission for two new devices identified as A1954 and A1893. The devices are described in the filings as “tablet computers,” suggesting they are new iPads.
Although new iPads with Face ID functionality are rumored to arrive before the end of the year, there’s a good chance that the devices referred to in these documents are far less exciting. As 9to5Mac explains, all signs point to the “tablet computers” being mundane refreshes of the standard iPad line, rather than brand new iPad Pros.
When it comes to Apple products, filings often turn up days or weeks prior to the actual unveiling of the devices. For example, mentions of the iPhone 7 and AirPods appeared just two weeks before the keynote in 2016. Plus, the latest MacBooks were discovered in the EEC database in May before making their debut at WWDC in June.
If the trend continues, the new iPads would be revealed within the next several weeks, which would be months before either WWDC 2018 or the inevitable iPhone event this fall. Consomac believes that this is a sign that Apple will hold a special press event in March to show off the new tablets, but it seems far more likely that Apple will simply roll out the refreshed iPad models without any fanfare, as it has on multiple occasions in the past.
In the end, this is all speculation based off of vague filings, but don’t be surprised if a couple of updated iPad models quietly find their way on to Apple’s online store within the next month or so, perhaps with lower price tags.
