More details about Apple’s new iPad Pro models emerge

A new report says Apple will announce two new iPad Pro models later this month, each with both Wi-Fi and cellular versions as usual. In addition, the report says, the company will announce a new Apple Pencil for use with the tablets.

The new stuff will be announced at an Apple even later this month, says the 9to5Mac story by Guilherme Rambo, who cites sources familiar with iPad development at Apple.

The report’s main points:

The new iPad Pros will sport displays that take up almost the whole front of the devices. They’ll have no Home button, borrowing the latest design approach used in the new iPhone X and Xs lines. But there will reportedly be just enough of that black bezel space for the placement of front-facing cameras, sensors, and microphones, eliminating the need for a notch at the top of the display.
Like the iPhone X, Xs, and Xs Max, they’ll use the Face ID face-recognition system for unlocking, and the camera will work in both horizontal and vertical orientations.
The new iPads will have a USB-C port–instead of Apple’s Lightning–which will be able to output 4K HDR video to an external display.
Rambo says Apple will also release a new Apple Pencil with the new iPads. The pencil will pair with the iPad by proximity, much like the AirPods pair wirelessly with the iPhone. No word yet on whether the old Apple Pencil will work with the new tablets.
As for other accessories, the new iPads will use a new type of magnetic connector. It will be built into the back of the new iPads, no longer along the bottom edge, and will enable a variety of accessories including Apple’s own Smart Keyboard and other third-party options. Remember that Apple once said there would be a vibrant ecosystem of accessories to connect to the old Smart Connector, something that never really materialized. (Fast Company‘s Jared Newman explained why.) We’ll see if third-party accessories makers get more excited about the new connector.