2018 iPad Pro redesign will look kind of like the iPhone 5: Report

Image: Lili Sams/mashable

Apple’s widely expected to announce redesigned iPad Pros on Oct. 30 and now we have a sense of what it will probably look like.

Tucked within Bloomberg’s report on what to expect from Apple’s event is a detail claiming the new iPad Pros will ditch the rounded edges for a more squared off look resembling past iOS devices like the iPhone 5.

“It will include more squared-off sides like the iPhone 5, 5S, and SE from a few years ago,” reports Mark Gurman, who has a reliable track record surfacing details on new Apple products before they’re announced.

The report corroborates a leak from earlier this month suggesting the same. You can see the mock-up renders from the earlier leak below.

If this is indeed exactly or close to what Apple shows off on Tuesday, it’ll be the tablet’s biggest redesign in years.

Here’s a quick history of the iPad:

• 2010: iPad launches with big bulging back

• 2011: iPad 2 arrives and cuts the thickness by 32 percent

• 2012: iPad 3 adds Retina display, bulks back up a little in thickness, but otherwise still looks just like an iPad 2

• 2013: iPad Air is first redesign since iPad 2 and comes with slimmer bezels and softer, rounder edges

• 2014: iPad Air 2 iterates on predecessor by losing more weight and slimming down some more

• 2015: Apple introduces 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Apple Pencil support. It’s really just a big-ass iPad Air 2 with more power

• 2016: 9.7-inch iPad Pro introduced. It’s a smaller 12.9-inch iPad Pro

• 2017: 10.5-inch iPad Pro with slimmest side bezels on an iPad yet launches

• 2018: Time for a design refresh!

We’ll know Apple’s plans for the iPad Pro on Tuesday, but rumors suggest both the 12.9-inch and 10.5-inch iPad Pro will have reduced bezels on all four sides, the smaller one might be as thin as 5.8mm, and both will support Face ID in portrait and landscape orientations.

The iPad Pros might also be the first iPads to dump the 3.5mm headphone jack, which could also mean the rumored AirPods with hands-free Siri will be announced too. The tablet’s also expected to swap the Lightning port for USB-C, which could make it a more versatile laptop replacement. An upgraded second-gen Apple Pencil is supposed to be coming as well.

Other than these rumored changes, the iPad Pros will reportedly be powered by some version of Apple’s A12 Bionic chip that currently powers the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

Apple will likely also announce a new 13-inch MacBook with Retina display to replace the outdated MacBook Air, a new Mac Mini, and spec updates to the iMacs. But the new iPad will no doubt be the star of the product announcement. 

Stay tuned. Mashable will be live at the Apple event on Tuesday bringing you all the news. ‘Tis the season for new gadgets!