Apple’s next event is almost here, according to a recent invitation. The company intends to “Let Loose”, whatever that means. There are some suspicions about what the company has in store, and these involve the iPad. Or, rather, a bunch of them.
Typically Apple’s event announcements are packed with hints and this one is no exception. The ‘Let Loose’ tagline suggests users will unleash whatever creativity they might possess, while the colourful icon (above) features a hand wielding a stylus over stylised pages. Unless the company plans to release a Wacom drawing tablet competitor, we’re probably looking at iPads and their Pencils when the event kicks off on 7 May.
Let Loose?
That echos the predictions made by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman at the beginning of last month. Standing in the wings are supposedly several models of iPad Pro featuring OLED displays. That’s all the rumour mill could talk about for the past few months so it’s very likely to be true (this time, anyway).
Along with the new screens, tablet owners should expect Apple’s M3 processors inside. A new design is in the offing, with changes to camera placement receiving special mention. Gurman expects an extreme redesign so maybe this isn’t where Apple is stopping.
New iPad Air models are also expected in 11in and 12.9in flavours. A processor upgrade (to M2, if Apple’s commitment to buffering their flagship products remains steady) should take place. It’s not clear whether there will also be a change in the Air’s overall design but it would be a good time for it.
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Also suspected are a revamped keyboard cover and a new Apple Pencil that can be squeezed. You could always squeeze it, of course, but this time it’ll give way under your fingers. This will allow you to perform set functions, though we don’t know what those might be. Oh, yes, and there’s talk that the new Pencil will feature interchangeable magnetic tips. It’s not like small, easily lost parts have ever annoyed end-users. Right, Apple?
Much of this remains speculation, however well-founded. We’ll know the official story on 7 May at 7h00 Pacific Time. Here in South Africa, that’s 16h00 on the same day. It’s an odd time for Apple to host an event, so we’re expecting its Let Loose announcement to be a stripped-back and efficient affair. Heck, it’s probably entirely pre-recorded and already sitting on an internal server somewhere inside the Apple Spaceship.