iPad Pro 2: 7 Expected Specs Of Apple's 2017 Tablet And Expected Release Date

Apple’s flagship tablet, the iPad Pro, is expected to get a refresh in 2017 — the company is expected to launch the iPad Pro 2 ahead of its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose in June. This will be the first do-over for the tablet since 2015.

While Apple has been quite secretive about the features of the upcoming tablet, several rumors have given us some idea of what the tablet might look like.

Here are seven expected features of the upcoming tablet:

Touch Bar: Apple is expected to introduce an OLED display across a range of products, including iPhones, iPads and Macs.

One of MacBook Pro 2016’s distinctive features — the Touch Bar — is expected to come to the iPad range of tablets, starting with the iPad Pro 2. For the uninitiated, the Touch Bar acts as a virtual function row on keyboards and comes with features such as app shortcuts, emojis access and others. The Touch Bar is also customizable. Such a feature on the iPad Pro 2 could give users easy access to many features and make posting social media updates from the tablet much easier.

Apple Pencil 2: The iPad Pro 2 might be accompanied by a new version of the company’s stylus, called the Apple Pencil 2. The new Stylus is expected to have a magnetic strip, which would let users attach the stylus to the tablet easily. It could also double up as a charging dock for the stylus, according to some rumors.

A10X Chipset, Improved memory: The iPad Pro 2 is expected to feature a new A10X chipset — an improvement over the A10 one found in the previous version of the tablet. According to leaked benchmark test from October 2016, the A10X scored a 4236 in single-core and 6588 in multi-core tests on Geekbench. In comparison, the A10 scored 3490 in single core tests and 5580 in multicore tests on Geekbench. In addition to this, the device is expected to have 4 or 6GB RAM and 64, 128 and 256GB variants.

12-megapixel rear camera: The iPad Pro 2 is expected to feature a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-camera, which would be a big update over the previous iteration of the device, which featured an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front camera. The company may also endow the tablet with Live Photos and 4K video recording capability.

True Tone Display: Apple may endow the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2 with the True Tone display. The feature, which automatically adjusts the color and brightness of the tablet to match its environment, is currently available only on the 9.7-inch version of the current iPad Pro.

3.5mm audio jack: Apple might have ditched the 3.5mm audio jack on its iPhones, but the company is expected to retain it on the iPad Pro 2.

iOS 10.3: The new tablet is expected to either come with iOS 10.3 at the time of its launch or it will get it later, as soon as it is launched at WWDC 2017.

The device is expected to be launched either in March or April at a dedicated event before WWDC. It is expected to be priced similar to its previous version — the 12.9-inch model could be priced at $799 and the 9.7-inch model could cost $599.