New iPad Pro 2018 – a simple guide to iPad X release date, features, specs and price news

APPLE may be about to prescribe you a very expensive tablet – the iPad Pro, or possibly iPad X.

To help you swallow this shiny new pill, we’ve put together a simple guide to the latest iPad 2018 release date rumours, plus all the news and leaks ahead of this week’s Apple event.

New iPad Pro 2018 release date – when is it out?

Every September, Apple hosts a major event in California to reveal new iPhones.

But the company also uses the occasion to refresh other product lines, including the iPad series of tablets.

Apple already revamped its entry-level iPad earlier this year, with a cheap new £319 model.

That leaves the pricier iPad Pro range in need of an update.

It’s expected that Apple will reveal a new model at the September 12 event as its new Apple Park HQ.

Pre-orders for any devices announced at the event are likely to begin on September 14, with an official release pegged for September 21.

Of course, Apple hasn’t confirmed any details about a new iPad, so take these rumours with a pinch of salt for now.

There is some small evidence that a new iPad Pro might not land at the September event – but come later instead.

Apple has recently removed some old videos about the iPhone and Apple Watch from its YouTube channels, but failed to scrap old iPad Pro videos – according to eagle-eyed Redditors, anyway. This could potentially be a signal that a rebooted iPad Pro could still be a few months away.

New iPad Pro design, specs, features and more

The big change we’re expecting to see from the iPad Pro is the addition of Face ID.

That’s Apple’s facial recognition system, which uses sensors and lasers to unlock your device – by scanning your face.

It’s a replacement for the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, which usually lives inside the Home button on your iPhone or iPad.

With last year’s iPhone X, Apple ditched the Home button so it could fill more of the phone’s front with screen.

Now it’s rumoured that Apple is following that same design strategy with the iPad Pro – or iPad X, as it may now be called.

That means we could see a swanky iPad with a front face that’s filled almost entirely by display.

Adding fuel to this rumour fire is a major spoiler for Face ID on the iPad, which was spotted in Apple’s own code.

A developer named Guilherme Rambo dug into the beta code for Apple’s new iOS 12 update for the iPhone and iPad.

In it, Apple made reference to Face ID on the iPad, including a set-up page and a relevant settings menu.

So what else could change with a new model?

We’d expect to see the introduction of a brand new chip to replace last year’s Apple A11 Bionic processor.

It’s likely to be called the Apple A12, and rumour has it that we’re going to see major performance improvements with the new chipset.

A processor in a computer or mobile phone uses transistors – tiny electronic switches.

These switches open and close, allowing electricity to pass through. This switching process is how computing works, at its most basic level.

The more transistors you can squeeze onto a chip, the more computing you can get done.

Tech firms are constantly trying to squeeze more of these transistors onto chips, to boost computing power.

Last year’s A11 iPhone chip was built using a 10nm manufacturing process – that means the distance between each transistor was 10 nanometres.

This year, we’re expecting Apple to use a 7nm process – meaning a smaller 7-nanometre gap between transistors.

That means Apple can fit more transistors onto its chip, reportedly boosting performance by 20%.

It also means we’ll see efficiency gains: it’s believed that the new chip will use 40% less power, boosting your battery life overall.

Apple is also expected to kit out its new iPad Pro with its new iOS 12 software.

This major update will almost certainly be available on any new mobile device revealed by Apple in September.

iOS 12 improves app loading times, introduces new animated Memoji emoji that look like you, and makes it easier to manage (and delete) your Home screen notifications.

There’s also a new Screen Time feature that lets you track (and limit) the amount of time you spend in apps.

New iPad Pro price – how much will it cost in the UK?

Apple’s cheapest iPad Pro costs just £319, but a new iPad Pro or iPad X will likely cost much more.

Buying an iPad Pro directly from Apple today will set you back anywhere from £619 to £1,249.

A new model will probably cost the exact same amount of money, although there haven’t been any pricing leaks to confirm this just yet.

It’s worth noting that Apple is supposedly going to drop the price of some iPhone models this year.

If that’s the case, Apple may also be open to reducing the cost of an iPad Pro by a small amount.

However, we’re largely in the dark when it comes to new iPad Pro pricing, so don’t get too excited just yet.

Would you be tempted by Apple’s rumoured iPad? Let us know in the comments!

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