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Tea next iPad Pro is likely to be the highlight of Tuesday's Apple event in Brooklyn. While nothing is confirmed, Apple's next tablet is in a nutshell: A nearly all-screen design, with tiny bezels (supposedly notchless) Touch ID home button. This redesign may also be larger (or the same size screen in a smaller body), and may even have a USB-C port, too.
It all sounds fine. Tea existing iPad Pro has not had an update since last June, but it is already a great tablet, and has a fantastic device for an artistic creation if you have an Apple Pencil. But I'd like something more specific from Apple's next version of its pro tablet. I'm a writer, an editor, someone who uses a Web browser for everything. In my daily life, working with documents and video, often using proprietary Web-based tools.
Watch this:
New MacBook Air, 2018 iPad Pro and our other Apple event …
6:07
Yes, I know that Apple has repeatedly stated that iOS and MacOS will not be merging. But I still want the iPad Pro to be a better stand-in for my laptop, even if both platforms continue to exist side by side. (And yes, we expect the long-desired MacBook Air successor to start at the Tuesday event, too.)
To that end, here's my wish list for what next iPad Pro will deliver.
Why not something like what … the Google Pixel Slate has?
Sarah Tew / CNET
A serious keyboard and trackpad option. To write and edit, I need a better keyboard solution. Tea Microsoft Surface has it. Tea Google Pixel Slate has it. The iPad Pro needs it. There will be a lot of things that can not be done.
A better browser. Chances are that Apple would have discussed this as a feature of iOS 12, but there is a chance that Safari performs more like a Mac browser on the new Pro? The Pixel Slate's biggest appeal beyond the keyboard is its desktop-like Chrome browser. There are still plenty of Web tools that do not adapt to iPad Web browsers. I want to use the iPad Pro like a Chromebook.
A larger screen in a smaller body? Sure, my bag says thank you. I do not know anything about iPad Pro, even if the 2017 iPad Pro did something similar. Smaller is better for traveling, and could help the iPad 12.9-inch Pro not feel so cumbersome.
USB-C is great, if it means extending to accessories and displays. A standard USB-C port would be a big move towards making the iPad feel like a regular computer, and would help you with fast charging (without requiring an adapter). I really hope it will be easier to use the iPad to connect to more docks, accessories, and external displays more flexibly. (9to5mac reported earlier that the iPad Pro's USB-C port will be able to push 4K HDR video to external displays.) Maybe it means allowing a quick-docking to a monitor, a pairing to a keyboard, and suddenly having a multimonitor computer. I'll keep my expectations conservative.
Sarah Tew / CNET
A way to charge and store that. The pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil is an amazing tool for drawing. But its charging methodology is bonkers: It juts out like a stiletto from the end of the iPad's Lightning port. A smaller Pencil that loads inductively or even magnetically attaches to a new charge connector.
A magnetic smart connector that allows more accessories. The current iPad Smart Connector Pro does not exist so it's possible to forget it exists. Aside from a charging stand and a few keyboards, it's almost vestigial. A more robust connector that works with a range of accessories and even docks would turn it into a true tool.
A larger range of Mac-like Pro apps. Expect Apple on Tuesday to re-emphasize Adobe's recent announcement that a full version of Photoshop is coming to the iPad in 2019. But where are Apple's own apps for creative pros? Final Cut X Pro and Pro X seem like clear candidates to make a move to iOS – especially if the company wants to show that the iPad is no longer just for "light" creativity apps like iMovie and GarageBand.
All will be revealed on Tuesday
That's my wishlist for the iPad Pro. To see the full range of reports in the past year, check out our rumor roundup. And do not forget to follow our live coverage on Tuesday morning.
MacBook Air 2018: All the rumors on specs, price and Oct. 30 debut
Apple iPad live live blog and livestream: How to watch Tuesday, Oct. 30
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