What's the big idea with Apple's iPad Pro?

What’s next for Apple’s iPad? While the company’s smartphones are selling like hotcakes, its tablet category has flatlined somewhat.

Something new is needed.

Industry chatter has it that, following the introduction of the iPad mini form factor in 2012, Apple’s going the other way entirely in 2015.

We could be looking at an iPad Pro, or an iPad Plus if we’re adhering to Apple’s recent super-sized nomenclature.

So just what is the iPad Pro? Allow us to round up, summarise, and speculate your way to enlightenment.

It’s going to be big and sharp

The iPad Pro is going to be big, and we’re not talking about potential popularity here. It’s going to be a super-sized iPad.

There’s been some fluctuation in opinions on the precise size of the iPad Pro’s display, with some early rumours suggesting that it would stretch to 12.9-inches. Current thinking has it that it will be a slightly smaller 12.2-inch example.

Still others have claimed that both are correct, and that there’ll be two models covering both sizes.

Either way, many sources have claimed that the iPad Pro will boost the resolution of its screen to the 4K standard. At 2,048 x 1,536, the current iPad standard can be equated to 2K, so it’s possible that the iPad Pro will simply double up to 4096 x 3072.

In the event that there are two models, it’s been suggested that we could even have a 12.2-inch 2K model and a 12.9-inch 4K model.

The reason the iPad Pro is going to be big - and the reason it’s being referred to in most quarters as the iPad Pro - is because it’s going to be aimed primarily at business users and professionals.

There’ll be more screen space for high-end applications, and the iPad Pro will be perfect for making presentations on.

Tying in with this rumour, KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo reckons that the iPad Pro will ship alongside an official stylus accessory. This stylus will enable much finer control of apps and tools, particularly when it comes to drawing and editing documents and images.

We’ve actually seen the potential for super-sized stylus-equipped tablets already, in the shape of the Microsoft Surface Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. But as always, the world will be extremely interested to see how Apple would handle the format.

It’s going to be powerful

Given its big, bad, pro status, you can bet your bottom dollar the iPad Pro is going to be the most powerful iOS device around when it launches.

Reports from a Japanese magazine claim that the iPad Pro will be powered by an A9 processor. Note that the last big iOS device to be released by Apple, the iPad Air 2 (pictured), was powered by an A8X - a souped up version of the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6.

This could well represent the debut of a new generation of processor, then, and one that will doubtless find its way (possibly in a slightly reduced form) into the iPhone 6S towards the end of the year.

Perhaps more interesting than this claim of the A9 chip is the claim that it will be backed by 4GB of RAM. This would be double the amount of memory featured in the iPad Air 2, which itself represented double that of any iOS device before.

If true, it would be another sign that Apple intends the iPad Pro to be more than simply a casual web browsing tool. It means business.

With this amount of RAM, coupled with the A9’s inevitable 64-bit architecture, the iPad Pro would go some way to closing the gap to proper portable computers like the MacBook Air.

It’s going to sound great

One area of the iPad range that’s never quite been as great as it should be is its sound quality. It’s always been clear enough, but a lack of base and of stereo sound has been a little baffling - particularly as it’s more of a sharing device than the iPhone.

Rumour has it that the iPad Pro will rectify this. A leaked case published on French blog Nowhereelse suggests that there will be four small speakers located near each corner of the iPad Pro.

This would almost certainly lead to louder, clearer, richer, and more directionally sensitive sound.

We’re pretty sure that the iPad Pro will launch in 2015. In fact, it could launch in just a few months time.

Back in October, the The Wall Street Journal carried claims from the Apple supply chain that the iPad Pro should have launched in late 2014, but that the demands of producing the iPhone 6 pushed such a launch back.

This would mean that the iPad Pro is essentially ready to go, and simply waiting for the appropriate production and launch windows to open.

With that in mind, some analysts and commentators believe that the iPad Pro will launch in the spring.