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August 28, 2014

Apple Plans to Release a Bigger iPad, Soon

Apple is rumored to release a 12.9-inch tablet as early as October 2014; it will be targeting North America's educational market only, according to a DIGITIMES post. The tablet is being considered as a substitute for the 11-inch MacBook Air, the source speculated. It is confirmed the large-size iPad will be mass-produced by Quanta Computer Incorporated, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of notebook computers and other electronic hardware.

A new report from Bloomberg’s Sam Grobart says production is scheduled to commence by the first quarter of next year. However, information from Apple display supplier in Korea (Quanta), reported by The Korea Times, indicates that assembly of a 12.9-inch Retina Display to be used in a next-generation iPad is already underway at its facility.

So, is the iPad about to get bigger? Expansion efforts have already been spotted on the iPhone and iPod lines where Apple has already managed to put a little extra diagonal on screens.

Apple has yet to release details on what is to come for its larger touch-screen. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has not gone public about the bigger-screen displays set to be available later this year or next, which would shake up the iPad line of Apple’s second-biggest product by revenue after the iPhone. Mr. Cook says that Apple has been working with its supplier for over a year on devising a 12.9-inch tablet display, as Apple struggles with declining sales of its 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch iPads.

The Bloomberg source, which presents a video on the new 12.9-inch display for viewers, reveals Apple is increasing the screen size of the iPad as such a product is apt for a suitable market of consumers that search for improved picture quality with higher pixel density. Apple’s Tim Cook believes screen size matter; he says large screens, however, require trade-offs, as “some customers value large screen size, others value also other factors such as resolution, color quality, white balance, brightness, reflectivity, screen longevity…”

Meanwhile, the new tablet size niche is currently being considered by many tablet manufacturers. Samsung Electronics, for instance, has recently unveiled its TabPRO at CES 2014, which presents a 12.2-inch WQXGA widescreen (16:10) display and offering resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 with more than four million pixels. Will Apple’s 12.85-inch forthcoming display be able to conquer this new market segment?

As for whether the large-size tablets will interest consumers, time will tell. Today, there is still a lack of support from related platform developers and ecosystems. There are development hurdles and concerns about the price/performance ratio compared to notebooks of similar price range. Apple CEO Tim Cook believes, however, that there is still significant innovation that will be brought to the iPad. He believes Apple's prospects in the tablet market are set to grow, suggesting the partnership with IBM can help iPad sales, as they’ll be working together to increase enterprise apps built on the device.




Edited by Maurice Nagle


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