iPad Pro 2 release date, specs, news: Ming Chi-Kuo claims 10- to 10.5-inch model coming, to generate 'more demand'

Well-placed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has provided new details about the iPad Pro 2, revising some parts of his research note from last year.

He maintains that the next-generation iPad Pro will come in three versions. One will sport a 12.9-inch display and as he said before, a 9.7-inch "low-cost" iPad Pro will also be unveiled.

Kuo added that the third iPad Pro 2 model will don a 10-inch to 10.5-inch screen. He describes it as "the high-end model equipped with a narrow bezel design."

In his research note from August last year, he explicitly said that this new iPad Pro 2 will be 10.5 inches. However, it looks like this time, Kuo is not sure of the display size of the device.

On this note, there was a report in the past that the second premium model will be 10.1 inches in size. Another claimed that it will be much bigger at 10.9 inches.

As he stated in the past, the premium iPad Pro 2 versions will be powered by the A10X processor, which will be manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

The A10X chipset is the first one that Apple will use built on a 10-nanometer technology. As per a profile of an Apple engineer dug up by The Motley Fool, he said, the processor was described to have "exceeded power and performance goals while simultaneously adopting new process technology and design tools."

As for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2, it will make use of the A9 processor, making it an economical option. It is believed that it could actually be the long-awaited iPad Air 3 but with a new name.

All these iPad Pro 2 models are expected to come out this year. Kuo said that the 10- to 10.5-inch unit will, as quoted by Macrumors, see "more demand from commercial/enterprises and tender markets" while the low-cost one "may have a greater shipment contribution and likely account for 50–60% of total shipments of new iPads."