IHS Markit analyst also expects a 10.5-inch iPad Pro soon

Rhoda Alexander, director of Tablets and PCs, at the IHS Markit research group tells Forbes contributor Brooke Crothers that we should expect to see a new iPad Pro design with a 10.5-inch display soon. This echoes a prediction made last August by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The beauty of the new size of Apple tablet is that it’s the same size as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro but with a resolution of 2,024-by-1,668 (compared to the current 2,048-by-1,536) because of a smaller bezel, according to Alexander. This works well for Apple because it means 9.5-inch iPad Pro accessories like the Smart Keyboard can be used with 10.5-inch version.

Alexander believes the new iPad Pro could arrive in the March-April time frame. A report  from DigiTimes last week, however, claimed that the the 10.5- and 12.9-inch iPad Pros may not come until May or June. (The Sellers Research Firm — that’s me — says Alexander is right about the March-April time frame.)

“I think this is a good move because the 9.7 [inch] display is too small and the chassis size on the 12.9 [inch] is too big,” Raymond Soneira, a display expert and president of DisplayMate Technologies, told Forbes.