Apple iPad Event: iPad Mini Pro Launching in April?

Apple could probably launch four iPad Pro models in April, Greek website Techvalue reported on Tuesday.

In addition to the rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro 2 model, the iPad Mini Pro could also be unveiled at Apple’s upcoming iPad event, the report stated.

So, in totality this could be Apple’s iPad lineup:

• iPad Pro 2 9.7-inch model
• iPad Pro 2 10.5-inch model
• iPad Pro 2 12.9-inch model
• iPad Mini Pro

If the report is accurate, it could point towards Apple’s consolidation of the iPad lineup. Apple could possibly start coming out with just iPad Pro models from this year. This would also mean that the iPad Mini would be replaced by the iPad Mini Pro.

In addition to this, the company seems to have killed off the iPad Air, since it has not refreshed it from the time the iPad Air 2 was launched in 2014.

Read: iPad Pro 2 Might Launch On April 4

Apple is expected to unveil the 2017 iPad range on April 4 at its new spaceship campus in Apple Park.

Apple remains a standalone player in a declining tablet industry, commanding 23.2 percent market share in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a Strategy Analytics report published in February. Overall, the tablet market fell 9 percent in the quarter. Apple shipped 13.1 million iPads in Q4 2016, according to the report. The number is less in comparison to 16.1 million iPads shipped in Q4 2015, yet Apple’s market share has jumped up from 20.6 percent for the same period in 2015. Basically, what the numbers are saying is that while Apple is gaining a better foothold in the tablet industry, overall tablet sales are declining year-on-year.

Read: iPad Pro 2: Expected Features

While market players such as Sony have simply moved out of the tablet market, Apple is expected to brave it out and keep consumers interested in investing in tablets. The company is expected to endow its 2017 iPad range with features such as Touch Bar, an Apple A10X processor, a new Apple Pencil and a 12-megapixel rear camera.