Big iPad refresh coming next month, claims report

iPad sales are in serious decline, but Apple CEO Tim Cook remains "very bullish" about the tablet. Can a March refresh turn things around?

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Japanese tech website Macotakara claims that Apple is planning a March event to unveil a new lineup of iPad Pro tablets that will come in 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch, and 12.9-inch variants.

This means that not only would the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros get a refresh, but also a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and the elimination of the iPad mini 4, replacing it with a new diminutive iPad Pro of the same screen size.

According to the report, the 7.9-inch iPad Pro will feature a Smart Connector and a 12-megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash, and be powered by Apple's A9X processor.

Both the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch variants will use as-yet unreleased A10X chips.

However, there appear to be some doubts over the existence of a 7.9-inch iPad Pro, with a DigiTimes report suggesting that a 10.5-inch edge-to-edge display would fit into the same form factor as the current 7.9-inch iPad mini 4 and that there won't be an iPad Pro equivalent of the iPad mini.

The report also claims that Apple could use the opportunity to make a few tweaks to the iPhone line, add a 128-gigabyte storage option to the iPhone SE, and unveil (PRODUCT)RED variants of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

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See also:

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• 7 things you need to know about Apple (Q1 2017 edition)
• iPhone 8 rumors finally suggest wireless charging is on the way

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