An intriguing rumor from earlier in the year pointed to the new iPad Pro for 2022 coming in a gigantic 14.1-inch configuration, and people paid attention, in part due to a big-name leaker saying the same a whole year before.
However, we're soon to run through the ribbon which denotes the end of 2022, and not only is this 'iPad Pro Ultra' (as we've taken to calling it) a total no-show, but there haven't actually been any iPad Pros, as many people expected. Or even the new iPad (2022) that was basically a given, since Apple's entry-level line gets an update every single year.
These tablets didn't show up at the iPhone 14 launch, and while rumors pointed to a subsequent launch event taking place in October for iPads, more recent news points to this being a smaller-scale affair. In fact, it might not be a launch event at all, with a big-name Apple leaker suggesting that the company might just send out a press release to announce new products.
So no iPad Pro Ultra?
If Apple were to announce a new giant iPad Pro, it wouldn't do so through a press release. This Ultra-fication would be the biggest change in Apple's iPad Pro line since it switched from 9.7-inch to 11-inch sizes for the smaller model, and the company almost definitely wouldn't announce this via a glorified email.
No - it seems unlikely that a 14-inch iPad is showing up this year.
This isn't a total surprise, as the leaker who provided the 2022 release date information has quite a mixed track record, and the other, more reliable sources didn't actually point to any year in particular.
But with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra at the beginning of the year, with a giant 14.6-inch display, lots of people thought that Apple could have something to match.
That's not to say that we won't see a giant-screen iPad at all, just that it almost definitely won't be out before the end of the year.
Big iPad; smallest violin
We imagine that this news, of a giant iPad Pro not arriving this year, won't break many hearts.
Apple fans are having a bumper year for product launches: there have been a grand total of three new Apple Watches, the most we've seen in one year, as well as four new smartphones including the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is the biggest upgrade Apple has brought to its smartphones in years.
Plus, earlier in the year we saw the iPad Air 2022, iPhone SE 2022, and plenty of new computers. It's been a very busy year to be an Apple fan.
The one area in which the company has been lacking, is also the area in which it has the biggest lead over its rivals: tablets. We've only seen the one iPad, which isn't many compared to most years, though the October press release will likely change that.
In such a busy year, Apple likely doesn't have the factory space, and its fans likely don't have the funds, for an even bigger, and even more expensive, iPad Pro Ultra. We can save that device, and its inevitable shake-up of our best tablets list, for another year.
