A crazy rumor about the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector surfaced over the weekend, but don’t worry, it probably isn’t true.
OK, so either Jony Ive has lost his mind or the Apple rumor mill will basically publish anything these days. Over the weekend, Japan-based Apple blog Macotakara published an iPad Pro rumor based on its usual supply chain sources that corroborated a few things we already expect in the new models:
OK, all good so far. While the last bit is a new rumor as far as I know, it’s hardly surprising, given that Apple all but declared a courageous war on headphone jacks with the iPhone 7. The shrinking bezels, home button-less frame, and TrueDepth camera all corroborate rumors we’ve heard before, and I fully expect the new iPads to adopt a similar design as the iPhone X, albeit with larger bezels and no notch.
Bigger, faster, and better, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro gets more than enough upgrades to make it to the finish line and garner a perfect score.
But there’s more to this rumor that brings a little confusion. Actually a whole lot of confusion. According to the site, Apple hasn’t solved the TrueDepth camera’s relatively limited field of vision, so apparently you’ll need to hold the iPad in portrait mode in order to use Face ID to unlock it. And that’s where this rumor goes off the rails.
Despite the orientation of the Apple logo and the home button, the iPad is very much a landscape device, particularly when it comes to the Pro model. Even Apple thinks so. Just scroll down the images on its iPad Pro site and you’ll see the majority of them displaying people working and playing with the iPad in landscape mode. Most of the iOS multitasking features need the tablet to be in landscape mode to be of any use. And of course, the Smart Keyboard only connects the iPad Pro in landscape mode.
It’s that last bit that’s changing, according to a Google translation of Macotakara’s post:
OK, what? So I’m supposed to believe that instead of waiting a year to properly figure out how to get the camera to recognize a face when turned sideways, Apple will be doubling-down on portrait mode? In 2018? After years of trying to convince us that the iPad is a PC replacement?
Macotakara is reporting that Apple will move the location of the Smart Connector to the bottom of the device.
That seems… unlikely. And kinda dumb. Who in their right mind would buy an iPad with a keyboard that docks in portrait mode. Here’s a test: Turn your MacBook on its side and tell me how useable it is. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Crazy right?
My guess is that this rumor got lost in translation and instead one of three things are going to happen:
Let’s break down the plausibility of each of these. Option one is quite likely in my mind. Moving the Lightning port to the corner wouldn’t really affect many people (I can’t imagine there are too many iPad Lighting docks in use) and it would make connecting Lightning headphones less unsightly. Option two is much less likely, as the only reason to dock the portrait Smart Connector would be for Face ID, which is silly.
Face ID is nice, but it’s not worth changing the iPad’s identity to get it.
Otherwise, iPad Pro sales are bound to crater. Apple has positioned its high-end tablet as a PC replacement for a while now, so expecting people to switch to portrait mode while sitting at a desk is nuts. Face ID and Animoji will be nice features, but neither is worth sacrificing the usability of the iPad Pro. So, consider this rumor debunked, for all intents and purposes.
And if it happens, I’ll eat my Smart Keyboard live on the Macworld Podcast.
