The number of rumblings surrounding the iPad Pro has reached a fevered pitch in the last few months and today, an alleged sketch has been leaked showing the design of the oversized iPad tablet. MacRumors reports that a Foxconn worker, via Nowhereelse.fr, has given the world a first look at the design of the rumored large Apple tablet.
The employee claims that the sketch notes are from the last summer's initial testing phase, which has since been put on hold. While Apple stopped after it received the first batch of prototypes, the source shares that mass production of the tablets will begin soon.
With regards to the design, the photo is of the top-right corner of the tablet. Audiences will see the volume and power buttons along with the camera -- similar to the existing frame carried by existing tablets.
What differs is the speaker grille that's located to the left of the power button. This could indicate a sound quality alteration, specifically, Gotta Be Mobile notes that means we could see a stereo sound feature in the said Pro tablet.
It was rumored earlier that the Pro would come with dual speakers at the top, separate from the pair located at the bottom and App Advice notes that based on the image source, the tablet would have a thickness of 6.9 and 7.5 mm.
Rumored Specs
Earlier reports regarding the iPad Pro tells consumers to expect a display size of either 12.9-inches or a small frame that's now being reported at 12.2-inches. Additionally, the Pro is believed to come equipped with the newest A9 processor chipset or the A8X, 2 GB or RAM along with Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
MacRumors recalls reports coming in from Mac Fan that claims the iPad Pro would have a 12.2-inch display and be coined as the "iPad Air Plus," in keeping with its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus labels.
With the specs being provided, many insiders believe that the iPad Pro or supposed iPad Air Plus will go head to head with Microsoft's Surface line and other similar products.
Release Date
The release of the oversized device was earlier reported to have been set for release in the fall of 2014 but due to delays in the mass production and massive demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, production for the big iPad was pushed back.
It's expected that the iPad Pro will be released sometime in the second quarter of the year.
Price
Seeing as how the iPad Pro is the first of its kind, no concrete price estimate has been established. TechRadar did publish that the Pro will likely fall in the range of the iPad Air or MacBook Air.
Stay tuned for more.
