iPad Pro 2 release date, news, specs rumors: Release expected in March 2017 along with iPad Mini 5

Many people from different parts of the world tuned in to the huge September 7 Apple Event that showcased some of the company's biggest offerings for this year. Some people wondered if the said event would feature the refreshed Apple devices such as the iPad Pro 2. To note, the unveiling of the current iPad Pro model also happened in the month of September back in 2015. Unfortunately for the iPad watchers, the event mostly focused on the iPhone 7 and the full version of the iOS 10. Regardless, the iPad Pro 2 rumors continue as it is likely that Apple will be having a separate event instead to showcase the new iPad devices.

According to Yibada, the next iteration of 2015's iPad Pro will be released in the early part of 2017. Most probably, the release date for the iPad Pro 2 will fall sometime in March 2017, the same month when the 9.7-inch version of iPad Pro was released by Apple this year. By that time, the public will not only be expecting two variants of the iPad Pro 2, but three, differing on the internal storage capacity and size.

The three iPad Pro 2 variants set to release in March 2017 are expected to have an AMOLED display panel, but only differing in screen size. As reported by Game N Guide, the base model of the iPad Pro 2 will have a 9.7-inch display, while the high-tier variants will be 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch in size. Even for the larger iPad Pro 2 versions, their mass and appearance are expected to be lighter and slimmer than the current iPad Pro. The classic slim body of the iPad Pro 2 is rumored to come with a special water-resistant technology.

The online publication speculates that the iPad Pro 2 may also have the same features of the recently released iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones. The next iPad Pro may also get rid of the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack and use a wireless earpiece instead. It may also have a dual lens camera feature.

As for the core specs of the iPad Pro 2, it is expected to run on an A9X chipset partnered with 16GB of internal storage. This is true for the base model, and the other high-tier variants are expected to have larger storage capacities plus the latest A10X processor of Apple.

There are also speculations that the smaller iPad Pro 2 version to be released in March 2017 will be the replacement of the supposed iPad Mini 5. There are rumors that the iPad Mini series will end with iPad Mini 4, although there is still a possibility that Apple will launch the iPad Pro 2 alongside the iPad Mini 5 next year.