The future iPad Pro 11 and 12.9 inches should keep the design that we know them, believes to know Mac Otakara, often well informed. A notable change is however announced by the Japanese site: there would be a four-contact connector at the edges at the bottom and top of the tablet. Difficult to say the exact position of these connectors new lookor their use, but nothing prevents to speculate happily.
The site explains that props could use them to power devices that plug into the Thunderbolt/USB-C port on the tablets. iPadOS 16 indeed opens the doors wide to this type of accessory on the iPad M1. One can nevertheless wonder why these products would need an additional connection for a power supply already provided by the Thunderbolt.
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Moreover, what will be the fate of the three-contact Smart Connector placed on the back of the tablets? Does Apple really intend to multiply the connectors, where is the fate of the Smart Connector at stake? This would have the unfortunate consequence of cutting off support for the handful of compatible peripherals, including the Smart Keyboard.