Arguably, it was Apple who spearheaded the popularity of tablet devices. When it unveiled the original iPad — a sleek, sexy tablet computer unlike anything else in the market at the time — in 2010, demand for tablets rose instantly.

Then, other third-party manufacturers followed suit, lusting to capture a significant chunk of the gestating market.

In recent times, however, desire for tablet devices have dipped. This, in part, is caused by the existence of 2-in-1 devices that can often rival tablets in functionality, features, form factor, power, and, most importantly, price. These days you can get a 2-in-1 laptop for much less money than an iPad Pro.

The global tablet market is on a downward slope, and so are Apple's tablet sales every quarter. But the company still wants to try and plow forward, and rumors say that it's going to rekindle consumer interest for iPads with a brand-new model that'll feature a big redesign.

iPad Pro 2 Rumors

Rumors suggest that this new iPad will feature a 10.5-inch screen but will be the same size as Apple's current 9.7-inch iPad. To achieve this, the company will reportedly shrink the new iPad's bezels.

Furthermore, the new iPad's design will sort of stand as a preview for the iPhone 8's design, according to rumors. The screen will purportedly extend to all edges of the device, and some even say that Apple will throw away the button altogether in place of a Touch ID scanner underneath the screen. While the rumor is exciting, it's highly unlikely for Apple to debut such a starkly advanced feature via its iPad, especially when it's the iPhone 8 that's receiving enormous hype.

iPad Pro 2 Rumored Release Date And Unveiling

The release date of the iPad in question remains much of a mystery. Previous rumors have said that Apple will announce it by March, but March came and went with no news about a newly designed iPad at all.

Now, a new leak suggests that Apple could release the new iPad Pro in June, which makes sense — Apple could unveil it during its WWDC conference in June 5 and ship it weeks later.

Case maker Urban Armor Gear appears to be prepping up new iPad cases, for the record. As 9to5Mac reports, the accessory maker is preparing 10.5-inch UAG Metropolis Folio Case for the new iPad model, which lines up with the device's rumored screen size.

There's pretty strong evidence that we're indeed getting a 10.5-inch iPad this year. Back in August 2016, KGI reported that Apple was developing two iPad models, one of which was a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad. That latter model was, of course, released this past March.

That said, take all these rumors with a grain of salt, as always. Apple already skipped a Spring iPad event, and it may skip talking about it even further during its WWDC next month. Expect due coverage when we find out more.

Thoughts about the iPad Pro 2 rumors? What features do you expect on the purportedly forthcoming tablet? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!