New iPad appears at the EEC ahead of rumoured March announcement

While Apple is no longer hosting a hardware launch event this month, a new iPad Pro could still be on the horizon. Brought to our attention by Apple Insider and Caschys Blog, a new iPad registration has gone live on the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). Registered on March 3, 2020, the EEC reports that "Apple Inc" has filed the listing.

Named the A2229, the tablet has been registered as running iPadOS 13, too. Presumably, any iPad launching in the next month or so would have iPadOS 13.4 pre-installed. The listing does not confirm any other details about the device though, or whether it is one of the rumoured iPad Pros.

However, Apple Insider points out that the 10.2-inch iPad, third-generation iPad Air and fifth-generation iPad mini all appeared in EEC listings shortly before Apple released them. On average these listings went live around eight weeks before the devices went live, contrary to previous rumours about Apple launching an iPad Pro refresh by the end of the month.

The outbreak of COVID-19 may have affected the release of the fourth-generation iPad Pros, though. As we reported last week, Apple may have delayed the release of the iPhone SE 2 because of current market volatility. Similarly, production issues caused by the outbreak may have pushed the launch of the iPhone 12 series by as much as two months.