Apple’s new, bezel-free 10.9-inch iPad Pro is rumoured to launch without a physical Home Button
Japanese website, Mac Otakara, is claiming that the rumoured 10.9-inch iPad Pro which is speculated to be under development within Apple will launch without a physical Home Button, and the bezel-free design suggested to launch on the device will allow for the 10.9-inch model to have the same overall footprint as the current 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
While the authenticity of the claims are uncertain; earlier in November, The Apple Post reported that Barclays Research analysts Blayne Curtis, Christopher Hemmelgarn, Thomas O’Malley and Jerry Zhang believe Apple is gearing up to introduce three new iPads during March 2017 following visits to the company’s supply chain.
The recent shoutout from Japan suggests the much-rumored 10.9-inch iPad model will be marginally thicker at 7.5mm, the same depth as the original iPad Air, compared to the current 9.7-inch iPad which is 6.1mm thick. – Surprisingly, it appears that the three new iPad models appearing in 2017 will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack abolished from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
According to the supply chain coursed cited within Mac Otakara’s article; a top bezel will remain on the new 10.9-inch iPad in order to provide space for the front-facing FaceTime camera, but the bottom bezel will be reduced; allowing for the “bezel-free” design to take place.