From the rumored March 2017 intro, the iPad Pro 2 models will instead be introduced on April 4 and the date will also mark the opening of Apple's freshly-built spaceship campus. In the same event, Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to reveal four new iPad Pro form factors.
Speculations are rife that Apple is set to discontinue the earlier iPad models to focus on the iPad Pro, which according to numerous reports will hit the market in 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes - all under the brand iPad Pro 2.
So with the arrival of the iPad Pro 2 series, the iPad Mini and iPad Air will be no more though recent releases on the line are expected to continue selling at discounted price.
According to BGR, the new iOS tablets will first see the light of the day in an event believed to take place at the new Steve Jobs Theater. As mentioned, the occasion is likely to coincide with Apple's grand opening of its new HQ that is designed like a spaceship.
"We now know that Apple Park is scheduled to open in April, 2017. It could be that Apple will have the reveal of the new iPad lineup in the 1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater onsite," the report quoted a recent blog posted by Steve Sande as saying.
As Apple is set to unbox four new iPad models, it is the 10.5-inch form factor that generates the most interest. The new iPad screen size is said to sport a redesigned profile, its bezel-free display largely taking a page from the rumored all-screen that the iPhone 8 is going to be when released.
WCCFTech also said in a related report that the iPad Pro 2 will be powered by the A10X mobile processing chip with the RAM support going as high as 6GB, which likely will be the case for the high-end 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch editions. For the smaller form factors, the standard RAM support is likely set at 4GB.
The same report likewise claimed that the upcoming iPad Pros will sell in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage configurations, with a dual camera setting also part of the package.
Another additional feature is Touch Bar that Apple has introduced with the MacBook Pro 2016 last year.
It's still unclear when exactly is the iPad Pro 2 release date but the likely timing is seen to happen with Apple's scheduled deployment of iOS 10.3, which us rumored to start rolling out in early April.