Apple is rumored to be prepping a 10.9-inch iPad for 2017, but according to Japanese tech blog Macotakara, the upcoming tablet is rumored to have the same footprint as the current 9.7-inch iPad Pro .

Cupertino isn't dealing in witchcraft. The manufacturer will simply offset the larger screen size with smaller bezels, Macotakara says. Citing an "informed" source in Taiwan, the site describes a nearly, but not entirely, bezel-less slate. The border housing the FaceTime camera will remain intact, while side bezels are reduced and the home button is retired.

The report fuels rumors that Apple will ditch the home button in next year's iPhone 8, replacing it with a digital version built directly into the edge-to-edge screen.

A nip here and a tuck there, meanwhile, might leave some extra junk in the trunk: Macotakara tipped an increase in tablet thickness to 7.5mm, the same girth as the iPad Air—likely a consequence of battery redistribution. Similarly, the 12.9-inch device is expected to grow to 7.2mm thick, suggesting additional bezel cutbacks.

Apple did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.

Macotakara last month reported a third iPad Pro size—7.9 inches—potentially intended to replace the current iPad mini. The new slate would join the flagship 12.9-inch iPad Pro and a resized 10.1-inch model (stretched out from 9.7 inches). That largely corroborates the last major iPad rumor, which came from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in August, when he predicted a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2, and new "low-cost" 9.7-inch model.

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