The iconic Home button on iPads and iPhones might soon be a thing of the past if recent rumors on this are anything to be paid heed to. Instead, the entire front would make for one seamless display, a design makeover that will also significantly add to the viewing area as well.
Citing a report on Makotakara, 9to5Mac mentioned the upcoming 10.9-inch iPad Pro could well go down in history as the first iOS device to make do sans-Home button. Instead, the Home button’s functionality might be placed beneath the front display.
Worth mentioning, the Home button has been a constant feature that has been present ever since the first iPhone was launched way back in 2007. The same also got carried on to the iPad that was first launched in 2010. Since then, it has been subjected to various upgrades, the most prominent of which include its incorporation of the fingerprint sensor.
However, with the same now getting ditched as a whole, it will be interesting to see what approach Apple takes towards including its touch sensor hardware. Most high-end Android handsets have gone for including the touch sensor at the rear while keeping the front completely button-free.
Meanwhile, in other iPad rumors, word has it that it might incorporate still thinner bezels. The iPad Mini and later iPad Air has been among the first to offer really thin bezels, a design feature that quickly got copied by the myriad other tablet makers.
However, the same report also mentioned the above design changes, no matter how likable or otherwise those prove to be among Apple loyalists, is also likely to add to the width of the tablet as well. As per Makotakara, the upcoming 10.9-inch iPad might end up being 7.5 millimeters thick, which happens to be the same as the first iPad Air when it was launched in 2013. The extra width is needed to accommodate the battery as well as the requisite display technology that supports Apple Pencil.
There also seems some ambiguity as regards the size of the upcoming bigger iPad. For instance, while Makotakara claims the iPad will have a display of 10.9-inch, analysts Ming-Chi Kuo is of the view that it is going to be of 10.5-inches. Both have proven track record when it comes to making Apple-related predictions, and it remains to be seen of what size the new iPad eventually turns out to be. We have to wait till early 2017, which is when the new iPad is expected to be launched to get to the bottom of this.
