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Apple's next iPad Pro will have Thunderbolt, improved display, could arrive in April: Report

Earlier reports claimed the iPad Pro would be announced March 23, but now it's looking like an April announcement.
Written by Jason Cipriani, Contributing Writer
iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard.jpg

Apple's iPad Pro (2020) with the new Magic Keyboard. 

Jason Cipriani/ZDNet

If you follow Apple rumors closely, you likely saw that a March 23 event had been floating around for the last few weeks. That date lines up with previous March Apple events, so it made sense. 

Apple typically announces its special events and sends out invites to members of the press at least a week in advance. Neither of which happened for the supposed March 23 event. 

However, a new Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman, who has accurately detailed Apple products and launch plans in the past, claims that Apple is preparing to announce a new iPad Pro "as early as April."

The same report also sheds some light on what we can expect from the upcoming iPad Pro. Specifically, Gurman mentions that Apple will use a Thunderbolt port on the iPad Pro to provide a faster and more robust connection to external monitors, accessories, and peripherals. 

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro's display will reportedly receive an upgrade as well, moving to a mini LED panel instead of a standard LED screen. The result will be a brighter screen with improved colors. 

There's been some speculation about what kind of processor any new iPad Pro models will use now that Apple's own M1 processor is shipping in some of its Mac computers. According to Bloomberg, the iPad Pro will use a processor with performance that's on par with the M1. 

Apple's spring event has also been rumored to include several other products, including a new Apple TV, third-generation AirPods, and Tile-like item tracking accessories called AirTags.

What features do you want to see in the next iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments below. 

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