iPad Pro: 10.9in model to launch in 2017 without a home button

Plus-sized tablet will beat the iPhone 8 to it

THE NEXT-GENERATION Apple iPad tablet might be the company's first iOS device to dump the long-standing home button.

Despite talk that next year's iPhone 8 will be the first Apple product to ditch the physical button as we know it, Japan's Macotakara reports that the next-gen iPad Pro will beat it to the punch. 

While previous rumours pointed to the iPhone 8 sporting a home button integrated into the display, the report claims that the Apple's next iPad will do away with the home button altogether.

This will, in turn, create the space for a bigger display, Macotakara claims, with the report noting that the next-gen model will cram a 10.9in display to fit into a tablet the same size as the current 9.7in iPad Pro. 

This extra screen real-estate will also be accommodated by thinner bezels, the report claims, but notes that there will be a trade-off: it will be fatter. This rumoured 10.9in iPad Pro reportedly will measure in at 7.5mm-thick, which while by no means chubby, is the same as Apple's original iPad Air from 2013. 

The last we heard, Apple was gearing up to launch three iPad models next year, and there was no mention of this mooted 10.9in model. 

However, this rumour also came via Macotakara, with the site claiming back in October that Apple will launch 7.9in, 10.1in and 12.9in models. It's likely, we'll assume, that Apple has decided to dump the 10.1in version in favour of a roomier 10.9in model. 

The smallest 7.9in model reportedly will arrive in place of the long-rumoured iPad Mini 5. It will come with a Smart Connector for hooking up Apple's Smart Keyboard cover, and an upgrade throughout with the addition of quad-speaker audio, four microphones, True Tone display with DCI-P3 Wide Color support, and a 12MP rear-facing iSight camera.

The 10.1in, or 10.9in model will replace the current mid-sized iPad Pro, while the 12.9in iPad Pro will offer an upgrade to Apple's current big-screen model with a 12MP rear-facing camera and True Tone display. 

Apple has controversially dumped the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but the report claimed that all three iPad Pro models will have a 3.5mm connection.