Rumor: Supplier now building 12.9-inch Apple iPad displays for early 2014 launch
A "first-tier display supplier" is building 12.9-inch Retina displays for use in a new jumbo-sized iPad set to launch in early 2014, a new report out of Korea claims.
The iPad Air is currently Apple's largest tablet with a 9.7-inch display.
The details were reported on Tuesday by The Korea Times, which cited an official at a local Apple supplier in Korea. According to the unnamed source, the 12.9-inch Retina display is currently being manufactured in the country as Apple gears up for a launch in the coming months.
Apple is said to be "increasingly interested" in building a bigger iPad, as the company sees that tablets will continue to replace traditional PC form factors. The unnamed source also reportedly said that the new iPad will have improved picture quality on par with "ultra high-definition" displays.
Tuesday's latest report is not the first to hint at a bigger iPad, nor is it the first to give a specific 12.9-inch screen size for such a device. Another rumor from earlier this month claimed that Foxconn was testing production of a larger-screened iPad for a spring 2014 release.
Such reports are not limited to overseas publications, either. The Wall Street Journal claimed in July that Apple has been toying with larger screen sizes on its best selling devices, exploring the possibility of both a 13-inch iPad and an iPhone with a larger display for launch in the next year.
Specifically, the Journal claimed in July that Apple has built a prototype iPad with a screen sized "slightly less than 13 inches diagonally." A 13-inch iPad would put it in a similar class with the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, both of which are available with 13.3-inch screens.
From top: iPad mini, iPad Air, 3rd generation iPad.
Noted insider John Gruber of Daring Fireball said in May that he expects Apple to release an iOS-based notebook "eventually" -- speculation that may align with Apple's alleged interest in a 13-inch touchscreen panel. Gruber said he does not, however, expect Apple to ever release a touchscreen MacBook.
Reports of a larger iPad model could also align with details first reported by AppleInsider in September on a new mystery product apparently intended to use a 17-watt power supply. People familiar with the matter said that Apple recently began the process of procuring low-cost components for the new 17-watt adapter, which would provide more juice than is necessary for the iPad Air, but significantly less than is required to power the company's MacBook Air lineup.
The naming of the new iPad Air has also helped to fuel speculation that Apple could be setting the stage for a so-called "iPad Pro," geared toward professional users and intended as a more full-fledged notebook replacement.
The iPad Air is currently Apple's largest tablet with a 9.7-inch display.
The details were reported on Tuesday by The Korea Times, which cited an official at a local Apple supplier in Korea. According to the unnamed source, the 12.9-inch Retina display is currently being manufactured in the country as Apple gears up for a launch in the coming months.
Apple is said to be "increasingly interested" in building a bigger iPad, as the company sees that tablets will continue to replace traditional PC form factors. The unnamed source also reportedly said that the new iPad will have improved picture quality on par with "ultra high-definition" displays.
Tuesday's latest report is not the first to hint at a bigger iPad, nor is it the first to give a specific 12.9-inch screen size for such a device. Another rumor from earlier this month claimed that Foxconn was testing production of a larger-screened iPad for a spring 2014 release.
Such reports are not limited to overseas publications, either. The Wall Street Journal claimed in July that Apple has been toying with larger screen sizes on its best selling devices, exploring the possibility of both a 13-inch iPad and an iPhone with a larger display for launch in the next year.
Specifically, the Journal claimed in July that Apple has built a prototype iPad with a screen sized "slightly less than 13 inches diagonally." A 13-inch iPad would put it in a similar class with the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, both of which are available with 13.3-inch screens.
From top: iPad mini, iPad Air, 3rd generation iPad.
Noted insider John Gruber of Daring Fireball said in May that he expects Apple to release an iOS-based notebook "eventually" -- speculation that may align with Apple's alleged interest in a 13-inch touchscreen panel. Gruber said he does not, however, expect Apple to ever release a touchscreen MacBook.
Reports of a larger iPad model could also align with details first reported by AppleInsider in September on a new mystery product apparently intended to use a 17-watt power supply. People familiar with the matter said that Apple recently began the process of procuring low-cost components for the new 17-watt adapter, which would provide more juice than is necessary for the iPad Air, but significantly less than is required to power the company's MacBook Air lineup.
The naming of the new iPad Air has also helped to fuel speculation that Apple could be setting the stage for a so-called "iPad Pro," geared toward professional users and intended as a more full-fledged notebook replacement.
Comments
"Anything can be forced to converge," he said in a conference call after the results, as transcribed by financial news website Seeking Alpha.
"But the problem is that products are about trade-offs, and you begin to make trade-offs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn't please anyone.
"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user.
"We're not going to that party... others might from a defensive point of view."
source: bbc news
What is a 12.9 inch iPad going to be better than?
An iPad Mini for traveling and out & about and 12.9" iPad for the couch or making one on one presentations. I really hope this rumor is true.
The iPad Mini replaces (mostly) a $1,500 MBA/MBP and the 12.9" replaces the home $2,000 iMac desktop (again, mostly!)
These with an 5s, an ATV, and a TimeCapsule and I'm good!
Best
Wow. Time to return my Air
Funny. Made me smile!
And the point of this would be what exactly? And what is an A7X? If Apple still needed to produce "X" chips wouldn't they have used it in the Air? Or did they purposely leave it off the Air to safe it for a "pro" iPad? I'm still not seeing the point of this device if it's running the current software that is on the Air.
Well, that narrows it down 2 (LG or Samsung). Sharp is in Japan (well with a components division in Korea, but the glass is made in JP)
Or it could be Apple back channeling stuff down to a marketing organization ('supplying Apple with posters and swag'), to get Samsung and LG to zig when apple is Zagging ('Hey, we got Samsung to make watches... let's see them make a 15" tablet... let them define the market for us with out us risking anything...;-).
12.9"? with a bezel? big ass tablet (thinking battery to drive it as long as the current 10"?). But 'in a class' with Macbook Air and MacBook Pro based only on screen size? that's a stretch for 2014. In 2016, when ARM and x86 have basically absorbed each other's leads and we see both in a 10ish nm etching.... Then I think you see a ARM notebook with a 'new' OSX, that is basically iOS ("When I left you, I was but the learner, now, I am the master.")
I like those kind of rumors. It means Apple R&D is healthty
And the point of this would be what exactly? And what is an A7X? If Apple still needed to produce "X" chips wouldn't they have used it in the Air? Or did they purposely leave it off the Air to safe it for a "pro" iPad? I'm still not seeing the point of this device if it's running the current software that is on the Air.
If the ipad pro really is 4k resolution, its going to need the "X"
What is a 12.9 inch iPad going to be better than?
it going to be better than the ipad air for hitting you on the head it with it...
What operating system will it run?
My guess is iOS. Think about it. Mac OS, including OS X has been a niche OS for decades. iOS is the #2 mobile OS overall, close to #1 in the US, and accounts for more than half of mobile profits and mobile app downloads. There's a reason Apple was first to introduce a 64-bit ARM processor and 64-bit mobile OS. They see it as the future of computing and want to secure their place in it. It's also why they ported the iOS versions of iWork over to Mac rather than the other way around. They want to promote iOS as the future, and Macs will be "dragged along" to further interoperability.
Microsoft prefers the opposite approach, which makes sense since Windows is by far the dominant desktop OS. Hence the whole drive to push a single Windows 8.1 for desktops, notebooks, and mobile devices.
The wild card here is Google. Android is the dominant mobile OS, but Google's control over it is tenuous. Chrome is fully within Google's control, but it doesn't have the same market penetration. Logically, I see Chrome and Android converging over time, but don't know whether Google will build up Chrome so that it replaces Android, or keep the two separate, but converged, much like iOS and OS X. I think Google would prefer the former but am not sure they can get there.
iPad Pro? No thanks, I'll wait for the iPad CoffeeTable with Retina Display...84 diagonal inches of glorious, full colour table goodness. Available in 2019 at your local Apple Furniture Warehouse. Love the wood grain accent trim!
Sorry, no wood grain finishes. Skueomorphism is out.
It will be in Jony Ive's white kitchen appliance plastic white. With gold anodized trim.
Except for the red one they will make for Bono.
2. How do you hold a 13" iPad?