Even though a lot of people primarily use iPads in landscape oriented mode, Apple still makes the Apple logo and the Face ID reader on new iPads in portrait orientation. A new patent, brought to our attention by 9to5Mac, suggests that this might be changing for future iPad devices. The patent submission that Apple made with the US Patent and Trademark Office is about an “Electronic device display with extended active area”. A welcome change will be the patent landscape orientation of the device. This is important given the fact that sometimes, people tend to block the Face ID sensor with their hands when picking up the tablet in landscape orientation. The change is also necessary with Apple’s iPads being advertised more like computers and with the new Magic Keyboard, which also benefits from iPad’s landscape orientation.

Additionally, in the application files, Apple mentions the presence of an active area, bordered by an inactive area, which suggests the presence of a notch on future iPads:

What’s more, the application notes that the inactive area may have a notch or other recess.

However, the notch may be just one option for the device, as the patent also lists that the inactive area may have icons or other information on black background to give the display a “continuous unbroken appearance”.