Rumors

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued (via 9to5Mac) a new report predicting that the Apple pencil will double in shipments this year. Kuo believes that the rumored next-generation 9.7-inch iPad will support the Apple stylus when it is announced tomorrow.

Apple plans to win back students and teachers with a new low-cost iPad and education software, according to Bloomberg. The company next week will return to its roots in education when it holds its first major event of the year at Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago.

Supply chain watcher Digitimes has filed another report claiming components for a new "inexpensive" iPad and iPad Pro model have begun shipping. The refreshed version of the 2017 low-cost 9.7-inch iPad is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2018, while the new iPad Pro models are expected in the second-half of the year, according to the report.

Rosenblatt analyst, Jun Zhang (via Barron's), is the latest to jump on the iPad Pro/Face ID rumors, started by Bloomberg last year. According to Zhang, Apple is planning to launch a new iPad Pro with a slimmer bezel and Face ID in the June-ending quarter. If true, this would mean the end of the Home button for future iPad Pro models.

More evidence pointing towards a new iPad release has popped up this week. This time it comes in the form of a filing with the Eurasian Commission, as discovered by the French website Consomac. Companies are legally required to file devices that use encryption ahead of any release. These filings have tipped us off about other products in the past, and come after several reports that Apple is planning to refresh its iPad lineup.

Apple is planning on bringing Animojis and a new tabs feature to the iPad with the release of iOS 12, according to Bloomberg. However, iPad owners will have to wait until 2019 for any major iPad-focused features to land on their tablets due to a new cultural shift inside of Apple.

After discovering icons that hinted at upcoming Siri features for Apple's HomePod, Brazilian technology writer Filipe Espósito has found references to something called, "modern iPad" in the code strings of the first iOS 11.3 developer beta. While this could just be a placeholder in the code, the discovery adds weight to previous rumors that Apple plans to launch a new iPad Pro with Face ID.

It's not a secret that the iPad has had some rough quarters in recent years, but the introduction of a more affordable 9.7-inch model in March has helped Apple's tablet regain growth this year. The new 9.7-inch iPad priced at $329 has been such a success that Apple is considering launching an even more inexpensive model in 2018, according to the DigiTimes.

Bloomberg has published a report claiming that the next-generation iPad Pro models will ship with Face ID in 2018. Face ID was introduced on the iPhone X which began shipping earlier this month.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," Bloomberg notes "at least one new iPad model with a screen size similar to the 10.5-inch iPad Pro is planned to include Face ID." Face ID would replace the physical Home button and Touch ID on the new iPad models. Apple's facial recognition feature is used like Touch ID to unlock a user's device and for approving payments using Apple Pay.

There have been a few signs that Apple has been working on an iPhone stylus. First an apparent slip by Tim Cook about using an Apple Pencil with an iPhone, and second three different patents filed for a smaller stylus and other Pencil technology. Today, the publication The Investor claims Apple is indeed designing a "digital pen" for release as early as 2019.