iPadOS 17.5 beta confirms the new iPad Pro’s biggest upgrade

Following an apparent delay due to production difficulties, Apple’s much-anticipated iPad refresh is now expected to take place in early May. And the odds on the announcements including a new iPad Pro with an OLED display just got a lot better, thanks to the discovery of giveaway code in the latest iPadOS beta.

As first spotted by 9to5Mac, the beta of iPadOS 17.5 contains references to both unreleased iPads and new display firmware. There are four identifiers that don’t match any currently known models:

• iPad16,3
• iPad16,4
• iPad16,5
• iPad16,6

For reference, the last batch of iPads back in 2022 had pre-launch identifiers beginning with 14 or 15.

As 9to5Mac notes, these are likely to correspond to the Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the upcoming 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It’s less likely that these could correspond to any new iPad Air models because those won’t get OLED until some time after it arrives on the Pro. And the iPad mini and 10th-gen iPad aren’t expected to get updates until the fall.

There are also references in the code to gestures that will be enabled by a new Apple Pencil: “LongSqueeze” and “DoubleSqueeze.” It has previously been rumored that Apple is working on squeeze gestures for a new Apple Pencil that will reportedly debut alongside the new tablets.

It’s been a long wait for new iPads, but OLED technology could be a real game-changer for the Pro models. It’s likely to give the upmarket model an always-on display and Standby mode, and OLED is generally better than LED (even mini-LED) for color fidelity, viewing angles, and power-efficiency. The upgrade could, however, come with a jacked-up price tag.

For all the latest news on the new models, check out our regularly updated iPad Pro 2024 rumor roundup.

Author: David Price, Editor