Apple rumoured to launch redesigned iPad Pro & Siri Speaker at the WWDC

Though WWDC is primarily a software conference, KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known as the “best Apple analyst on the planet” is expecting the Cupertino giant to introduce two new hardware products in the upcoming event. If the reports are accurate, the redesigned iPad Pro and a Siri speaker are expected to arrive at WWDC in June.

The redesigned iPad Pro, which has been doing rounds in rumour mills since months, is highly anticipated to come with thinner bezels and a bigger screen.

KGI believes the new iPad Pro will come with a 10.5-inch display. "The new design should improve the user experience and help gain traction in the corporate/ commercial sectors. We forecast 10.5-inch iPad shipments of 5.0-6.0mn units in 2017F, accounting for 15 percent of total 2017F iPad shipments," Kuo says in his 2017 WWDC report. However, considering the rumour of thinner bezels, we are expecting it to be roughly the same size.

The reason behind this interesting assumption of Kuo is company's delay in announcing new devices during a Spring event, which is typically followed by Apple every year. Then, neither the devices were ready, nor the campus to showcase the products. So Ming-Chi Kuo thinks Apple is going to use WWDC as the launchpad for its new devices.

We have one more theory to back this report. Apple is reported to get busy in mass production of the 10.5-inch iPad to start in late Q2, which is quite close to the conference date, i.e., June 5. KGI expects Apple to ship about 6 million 10.5-inch iPad Pros this year, targeting corporate and commercial sectors.

Coming to the Siri Speaker, the Amazon Echo competitor, is expected to be named ‘Siri Hub’ which will boast premium audio quality. Holding a higher price tag than the Amazon Echo, the device will also include a ‘touch panel’. It will enable users to voice command their device to perform a range of tasks from home automation to up information and provide feedback.

Kuo says there is more than 50 percent chance of Apple showcasing its smart speaker next month, but the device may not be available until later this year.

This news comes only a few days after Amazon launched ‘Echo Show’ with a 7-inch screen and video-calling feature.

While we're not sure whether iPad Pro or Siri speaker will make it to WWDC, the most exciting event for developers, the previews of next version of iOS 11, macOS 10.13, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4 are definitely in the pipeline.

Apple also says that it will still live stream all the sessions. So, save the date as and stay tuned for more announcements.