iPad Pro Release Date, Specs Rumors: Launching April 2015?

Speculations about the release date of the iPad Pro (or iPad Plus) seem to pinpoint to Q2 of 2015, or as early as April. It also seems that the release will also include the iPad Mini 4.

Although there is no 100 percent confirmation yet as to whether there is indeed a product such as iPad Pro, as this was not included in the October 2014 launch event, the industry is abuzz with speculation about the specifications and its ultimate release.

iPad Pro is a big screen iPad, very similar to the iPad Air 2, but thinner, and more lightweight with a profile of 7mm and a weight of only 700 grams. It will have a 12-inch screen display with 2k resolution. An image was "leaked" and was seen at the Chinese social media site, Weibo.

Why, you may ask, would Apple produce a big-screen iPad? One word: Productivity.

The iPad has been in the market for around four years and the question still remains whether iPad can indeed operate as a primary work tool. Its screen is smaller than most laptops, the iOS very limited and multi-tasking is not an option. It seems that some or all of these issues can be addressed by the 12-inch iPad Pro.

Along that same line of thought, there is further speculation that the iPad Pro will be released as a hybrid tablet/laptop, or a tablet with a detachable keyboard, similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro series.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook famously shot down the idea of a MacBook/iPad hybrid back in April 2012, it should be remembered that Steve Jobs famously dismissed the mini tablets in the past, and yet we have the mini iPads.

There is also speculation as to how big the screen really would be, with guesses between 2.2 to 2.9 inches with screen resolutions of 2K and 4K! New features like Touch ID, voice calls (now that would be interesting) and split-screen multi-tasking. Again, these features point to the one thing the iPad Pro seems to be improving on: Productivity.

Will the iPad Pro be adopted as a primary work tool? We need to wait and see. Hopefully by April 2015, we shall begin to find out.