The iPad Pro could soon get a genius feature from the Pro Display XDR

Banish reflections for good

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In most respects, theiPad Prolives up to its name and is one of thebest tabletsyou can buy. And now, we’ve just got wind that it could be in line for a new feature that will make it even more “pro” than it already is.

If Chinese Weibo leaker Instant Digital is to believed,Appleis working on bringing a matte textured finish to future iPad Pro models (viaMacRumors). This will apparently be offered in addition to the standard glossy surface that the iPad Pro has come with since it first launched.

According to the leak, the matte finish features -4° to +29° of haze – meaning it reflects a low amount of light back off its surface – and could block blue light to help protect your eyes. That could make it an ideal device if you’re sick of on-screen content being obscured by reflections.

It followsanother reportfrom Instant Digital, which claimed that theiPhone 17might end up getting its own anti-reflective screen that would make it a lot easier to use in bright light. Instant Digital has a mixed track record for leak accuracy, but they have had some hits in the past, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for their reports.

Pro-level technology

Instant Digital didn’t confirm whether the iPad Pro’s rumored matte screens would be the same nano-texture glass used in Apple’sStudio Displayand Pro Display XDR, but it certainly seems possible.

Apple has brought more and more pro-level features to its high-end iPad in recent years, including Apple silicon chips and Liquid Retina XDR displays, so getting something found in the company’s most advanced monitors does not seem out of the question.

How does Apple’s nano-texture glass work? Well, it’s not simply a matte surface applied to the glass – Apple has etched into the display’s glass, which causes light to scatter more effectively and not reflect straight back at the viewer.

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The difficulty with that is the small etchings make the screen harder to clean, as there’s a greater surface area for dirt and grease to stick to. That’s one thing for a non-touchscreen monitor like the Pro Display XDR, but quite another for the iPad, which will be poked and prodded with your fingers all day long.

We could end up finding out how accurate Instant Digital’s leak isas soon as next week, as reports have claimed Apple will announce anew iPad Proon March 26. Although those reports have since been contradicted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on X (formerly Twitter), with the Apple reporter claiming they’re “not true”. Still, whenever we do see Apple’s new tablet, it’s possible we’ll see it get a major display upgrade.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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