Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple’s upcoming iPad Pro M5 will reportedly include two front cameras — one on the landscape edge and another on the portrait edge.
- The change will allow users to better use both portrait and landscape orientations for selfies or calls.
- Android tablets should also adopt this approach for its practical benefits.
Most big launches are done for this year, but we still have two heavyweights to look forward to in the coming months. Google will launch the Pixel 10 series in August, and we then expect Apple to follow up with the iPhone 17 series sometime in September, followed by the launch of new iPad Pros sometime in October. The iPhone 17 is exciting, but it seems Apple has something good cooking for the upcoming iPad Pro too, and we want to see it on Android tablets too.
Mark Gurman reports that Apple is adding a second front camera to the upcoming iPad Pro M5. The iPad Pro lineup featured a portrait-side front camera until the iPad Pro M4 (2024), wherein Apple switched its position to the landscape end. The upcoming second front camera will be on the portrait side.
This will enable iPad Pro M5 users to use the tablet equally well in either portrait or landscape orientation for selfies and video calls.
I bought the iPad Pro M4 last month, and I certainly see where Apple is getting this idea from. While the landscape orientation front camera is great for longer meetings when I have the tablet propped up on a folio case, I miss having a camera on the portrait edge for quicker video calls with the family. A second front camera on the portrait edge would solve the issue wonderfully.
I have also run into issues with FaceID in portrait orientation, as sometimes my hand accidentally covers or obstructs the front camera, forcing me to enter my PIN to unlock the iPad. This could be fixed by opting for TouchID on the power button, but a second set of TrueDepth cameras would be an equally fantastic addition. The leak doesn’t discuss whether the second camera will be a TrueDepth camera, so don’t hold your breath on FaceID functionality from it.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
The more I think about it, the more I want Android tablets to copy this approach of packing in two front cameras, one on each edge. Unlike phones that are primarily used in portrait orientation, tablets are used interchangeably between portrait and landscape orientations. A tablet has plenty of internal space and bezels to pack a second front camera, and most users will get more utility out of it than a second rear camera, presuming both front cameras output equal quality. There shouldn’t be a right way to hold a tablet, whether Android or Apple, and adding a second front camera will help us get there.
