iPad with Large 16-inch Display Rumored for Release This Year
by Matthew Nudelman
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Apple is rumored to be working on a larger iPad to be released this year. The new iPad is said to have a 16-inch display, making it the largest iPad to date, with the current largest iPad having a screen size of 12.9 inches. This 16-inch iPad would have a screen size comparable to Apple’s largest MacBook, bringing the two devices even closer together in similarity. The most likely scenario is that this new bigger iPad will be aimed at creative professionals that would prefer a larger screen to work on. This would undoubtedly make a difference, as a 16-inch display tends to be standard for creative professionals using display tablets for their work. 
This new iPad is believed to be releasing in the fourth quarter of this year, though it is still possible that this could change. It is unknown how this larger iPad would fit into the rest of the iPad lineup, as it is not clear whether this is considered an “iPad Pro” or if it is something else entirely. In recent years, Apple has been blurring the line between the MacBook and the iPad by marketing the higher-end iPads alongside a detachable keyboard, which includes a touchpad that makes the device function much more like a laptop. Along with this, most of the newest iPads are using the M1 or M2 chipsets, which were originally developed for the most powerful MacBooks, giving these iPads a massive amount of power that they may not even fully take advantage of with the software currently available on iPadOS. DaVinci Resolve, a full-featured video editing and compositing software comparable to Adobe Premiere Pro, recently became available several months ago for iPads with the A12 Bionic or newer. This may be one of the few applications that requires the great deal of power that the newest iPads have. If this new 16-inch iPad, a so-called “iPad Ultra” to some, is to be released, it will most likely be using the M2. This will allow professionals to take full advantage of the increasingly-demanding software becoming available for iPadOS in recent years, and so it would be very understandable to include it in a large iPad marketed towards these creative professionals.
Apple has been aiming iPads at creatives more and more over the past several years, giving them significantly more power and making the Apple Pencil a major selling point of the devices alongside Procreate, an exclusive painting software that is often regarded as one of the best. If the rumors are accurate, this new large iPad will absolutely support the 2nd generation Apple Pencil as it will be necessary to make full use of the graphic software available on the iPad. It is still not fully known what the current state of the 16-inch iPad’s development is, but more information may be uncovered over the next several months leading up to its supposed release period.