If you want to see where the iPad is going, all you really have to do is take a look at where the iPhone is today. Ever since Apple released the iPad back in 2010, the popular tablet has routinely adopted features originally introduced on the iPhone a year or two earlier.
Well now, the tables may have turned. A new report from The Elec relays that Apple’s iPad Pro model in 2020 will incorporate time-of-flight camera sensors that will able to more ably determine how far away a given object in a room is. If this sounds familiar, it’s because reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously claimed that the iPhone in 2020 would receive the same feature.
The report further states that Apple’s 2020 iPad Pro will be released in March. If true, and assuming the rumors regarding the aforementioned time-of-flight sensor are true, the iPad Pro would adopt the feature a full 6 months before the iPhone. This is a bit unusual, but Apple has deviated from established trends before.
As to the benefits of time-of-flight sensors, it would enable future iOS devices to offer up better photos, enhanced 3D mapping, and of course, huge improvements with respect to Augmented Reality functionality.
Of course, and as with most Apple rumors, this should all be taken with a grain of salt, especially when discussing products that are still many months removed from hitting store shelves.
While it remains to be seen what Apple’s 2020 iPad Pro brings to the table, we’ll likely have a new iPad to enjoy far sooner. Earlier this month, a report emerged claiming that Apple is planning to release a 10.2-inch iPad this coming September. Though not official yet, it’s widely assumed that the new iPad with a 10.2-inch display will serve as a replacement for the 9.7-inch model.
With Apple’s upcoming media event unofficially slated for September 10, it stands to reason that we’ll know in just about two weeks time what type of hardware we can expect to see from Apple before the end of the year.
