A Bloomberg Business profile on Johnny Srouji, Apple’s recently promoted Senior VP of Hardware Technologies, reveals some interesting details about Apple’s timeline for the iPad Pro, noting that the larger tablet was originally planned for a Spring 2014 debut by Apple, but was delayed to a fall release after falling behind schedule. Notably, the iPad Pro as originally conceived would have included the same A8X processor found in the late 2014 iPad Air 2 model, but due to the delay and the expected debut of the iPad Pro alongside the A9-equipped iPhone 6s, Srouji was forced to scramble to move up the development of the A9X chip by half a year to have it ready in time for the iPad Pro debut. The Bloomberg profile goes on to spotlight Srouji’s background and history of contributions to Apple from the development of the company’s first A4 system-on-a-chip for the original iPad through to the unprecedented 64-bit A7 that powered the iPhone 5s.
