Apple said to be readying three new iPads for the spring

With MacBook Pro and iPhone updates out of the way, Apple is turning its attention to the iPad for its next product refresh, and if the rumours are to be believed it's got some very interesting plans for the slate in 2017.

A research note from analysts at Barclays Research, seen by MacRumors, quotes sources from the supply chain saying new 9.7-inch, 10.9-inch and 12.9-inch models are on their way in the spring.

Those 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch models will be refreshed versions of the existing models, but that 10-incher is all new - and apparently it's going to come with a bezel-free design that ditches the home button and allows it to be the same dimensions as the 9.7-inch iPad. The headphone jacks are staying too.

Keep taking the tablets

All of this is informed speculation of course, and we'll have to wait for official word from Apple, but it's likely that the Cupertino company is planning something pretty major to renew interest in its tablet line. In its last earnings report Apple said it sold 10 million iPads compared with 10.9 million in the same quarter in 2015.

Now there's a super-sized iPhone available, the iPad mini is getting less love: the Barclays Research tipsters say the iPad Mini 4, launched in September 2015, won't be getting a refresh this time around.

The bezel-free 10-inch iPad certainly sounds intriguing - and it matches up with other rumours we've heard about the iPhone 8 going the same way. Bezels and physical home buttons, your time might be up.