The newest member of Apple’s iPad family may be coming sooner than expected with a report claiming that the iPad Pro may be revealed September 9 at an Apple launch event along with the new iPhone and Apple TV.

According to 9to5Mac, which is usually pretty spot on with these things, the reveal of the iPad Pro, along with an updated version of the iPad mini, will come next week, with pre-orders in October and shipping in November.

However, the report does note that although Apple is currently considering including the iPad Pro at the September launch event, it may change its mind and hold back the announcement due to supply chain issues, or in particular “that sufficient component availability to meet anticipated year-end demand appears to be the only question mark at this point.”

The new iPad Pro (and that’s believed to be the official name) is said to be running the iOS 9.1 operating system with additional tweaks for the device including optimized versions of the Siri and Notification Center interfaces.

Previous reports around the iPad Pro indicate that it will likely measure 12.9 inches and ship with a specialized “Apple Stylus” made exclusively by Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co. Ltd. that will take advantage of new iPad’s Force Touch-enabled screen.

The stylus is said to be due to the alleged fact that the larger size of the iPad Pro results in poor yield rates, and that the implementation of a Force Touch-enabled stylus would enhance productivity by offering a more precise operation than using only fingers.

Price

The biggest mystery surrounding the iPad Pro continues to be the price at which it will go on sale, whether it’s announced September 9 or in October.

Reports that iPad sales have been declining in numbers for several years now are accurate, but do not reflect the tablet market as a whole; overall tablet sales in the market haven’t declined versus there being a decline for premium, high-priced tablets, and that trend applies just as much to Apple’s rival Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. as it does to Apple.

Apple fanboys and sycophants may well find the new iPad Pro appealing, but there doesn’t seem to be a compelling use case either, unless people would prefer a tablet running a stunted mobile operating system compared to say Apple’s ultra thin and light MacBook running OS X.

Either way, stay tuned to SiliconANGLE for complete coverage of Apple’s big event on September 9.

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