iPad Pro 2 release date, specs: Improved Apple Pencil, faster display coming

The new Apple iPad Pro is displayed during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, Sept. 9, 2015.REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach

The iPad Pro 2 was one of the products snubbed at Apple's recent launch event, but it does not come as a surprise as the latest iteration of the giant phablet is not expected to be released this year.

Reputable analyst Ming Chi-Kuo has already said that the new iPad Pro will be launched in 2017 along with a smaller version which has a 10.5-inch display.

The iPad Pro 2 and the said 10.5-inch version, which Kuo says "will be helpful to bid for tenders within the commercial and education markets," will have the new A10X processor under the hood.

According to Bloomberg, the iPad Pro 2 will also get some additional features care of iPad-centric software upgrades to be integrated on the iOS 10.

One of the upgrades will have to do with the Apple Pencil, which will be made friendlier to professionals. This will be done by making it a handwriting and drawing stylus.

Apple is also reportedly looking into giving the users the ability to annotate objects in various applications like the Mail, the Safari web browser, and iMessage in the iPad Pro 2.

The Apple Pencil already allows this, but only on specific apps. The Redmond-based company is looking to make it a full-fledged feature on the iOS 10.

Meanwhile, the iPad Pro 2 is also expected to sport faster display technology, which will make for faultless zooming, panning, and scrolling.

While the iPad was snubbed last Sept. 7, Apple actually did some tweaks on some of the current units available on the market but did not announce them on stage.

One is that the original iPad Pro is now cheaper with the 128GB version $50 less and the 256GB model getting a $100 discount. Apple now offers the 32GB version as the base model for the tablets and the best part is that they come with the same price as the 16GB versions.

No more 64GB versions for the iPad mini 4 as the tablet and the Air 2 now come in 32GB and 128GB. The iPad mini 2 now only has one version, which is 32GB.

As for the iPad Pro 2, the device is expected to be released March 2017.