Apple to launch 9.7-inch iPad Pro, not Air 3; Smart Keyboard & Apple Pencil support likely
Apple will further differentiate the next-generation 9.7-inch iPad from its predecessor by making it part of the new iPad Pro line, according to sources. Much like the MacBook Pro comes in 13-inch …
Context & Ripple Effects
The working assumption for Apple's spring 2016 tablet was an iPad Air 3 — an incremental spec bump. Sources now say Apple instead folds the 9.7-inch size into the iPad Pro line, mirroring how the MacBook Pro comes in multiple screen sizes rather than as separate product families.
The move lands just before launch: days later, reporting suggested the small Pro could even outgun the 12.9-inch model on camera hardware with a 12MP sensor and 4K video a camera advantage over its larger sibling, and Apple confirmed the product at its March event when the 9.7-inch iPad Pro was formally introduced.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the smaller iPad get the Pro tier's accessories — Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil support — rather than waiting on an Air 3, collapsing the feature gap between screen sizes.
Second-order effects
- Apple's own lineup logic shifts: with 'Pro' now spanning two sizes, every subsequent iPad Pro generation inherits this tiering, from the 2018 edge-to-screen, USB-C redesign the near-edge-to-edge 2018 iPad Pros to the planned M3-and-OLED overhaul the first major rework since 2018.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the iPad Pro becomes Apple's standing laptop-alternative track — which is where the line appears to be heading, given reports of new iPad Pros and an entry-level 14-inch MacBook sharing a design language aligned with upcoming touch-screen MacBooks four new iPad Pros and a 14-inch MacBook in the works.
The trend: The iPad Pro is consolidating from a single large model into Apple's multi-size professional tablet line, progressively absorbing Mac-class features across generations.