Apple to debut 10.5" iPad Pro in 2017, integrate flexible AMOLED tech in 2018

Posted:
in iPad edited June 2020
Well-connected KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to launch three iPad models in 2017, including a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, while "revolutionary" changes like a radically redesigned chassis and AMOLED panel are in store for 2018.
Ming-Chi Kuo in a note to investors on Sunday, obtained by AppleInsider, said he expects iPad to follow a conservative hardware evolution going into 2017, with Apple preparing three next-generation models largely similar in design to existing units. Along with a 12.9-inch "iPad Pro 2," the company will introduce a new 10.5-inch variant priced above a low-cost version of the 9.7-inch iPad, Kuo said. An Apple-designed "A10X" system-on-chip made using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's 10nm process is expected to power both the 12.9- and 10.5-inch models, the latter of which could find traction with commercial and education markets. While not specified in today's note, the analyst suggests Apple's 10.5-inch iPad Pro will serve as a replacement for the venerable 9.7-inch form factor. Next year's low-cost 9.7-inch iPad is to carry over the A9X processor, also manufactured by TSMC. Apple's current 9.7-inch iPad Pro flagship runs the A9X, meaning the next-generation model should sport an "A10X" and debut in early 2018. Despite hardware refreshes and the introduction of a 10.5-inch model, Kuo forecasts iPad sales to continue a downward slide until the product line is revamped in 2018. Riding a tailwind from the 9.7-inch iPad Pro release in April, Apple's tablet line eked out its best result in ten quarters during the third fiscal quarter of 2016, though overall sales are on a slump. According to the analyst's latest predictions, Apple is working to reinvigorate its tablet series with a redesign set to debut in 2018. Kuo expects a flexible AMOLED panel to highlight a host of hardware upgrades, technology that could open the door to more intuitive, and therefore compelling, user interfaces. The company is thought to be following the same formula for iPhone. A number of industry insiders, Kuo among them, are forecasting Apple's move to an all-glass iPhone chassis with OLED screen in 2017. With a dearth of new models launching in the second half of 2016, and increased competition from Chromebook in the education market, Kuo cut fiscal 2016 iPad shipment estimates from 45-50 million to 35-40 million units.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 71
    I really wonder how a "more intuitive" user interface might look like. on the one hand iOS on a basic level is still the most intuitive user interface I've encountered and I still need to meet a person who did not grasp the basic UI more or less immediately. 
    OTOH over the releases iOS can do a lot more and this leads t a number of non obvious features. How specifically flexible display tech should enable a next "jump" in terms of usability I have no idea. Ok, you can depress the screen instead of having the screen emulate the physical action, you might have "real" keyboards etc. but that's nothing revolutionary in my eyes. Hm. Curious what will come. 
    doozydozen
  • Reply 2 of 71
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,300member
    This is excellent news. The 2017 iPhone and the 2018 iPad should finally minimize the blathering we've been hearing from critics. Apple knows what it's doing, and won't rush to be the first to get a product to market. They'll wait until it's done right.
  • Reply 3 of 71
    blitz1blitz1 Posts: 428member
    These days at Apple, innovation means little more than variants.
    i stopped holding my breath with the introduction of "new" products
    jdwdigital_guytallest skilwozwozwaltg
  • Reply 4 of 71
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,316member
    Want a great iPhone? Just wait until 2017.
    Want a great iPad. Just wait until 2018.
    Want a Kaby Lake MacBook Pro? Just wait until... well... who knows when.

     I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of playing the waiting game. And frankly, until Apple kicks out those promised devices (specifically, OLED tech), all that "blathering" a previous poster spoke of will continue in full force, and rightfully so. If Apple had those devices out now (which except perhaps for Kaby Lake is very possible, seeing other manufacturers have such tech), Apple would sell a huge amount (i.e., more than usual). But by delaying them for so long, our expectations grow higher and higher such that when they debut, our reaction, while still positive, is muted. And some people during that time go off and buy non-Apple products, which make it less likely they will be inclined to by those fancy new Apple devices.

    I want to be wowed by Apple again. I don't want to be strung along playing the waiting game and then get let-down when it finally comes out because it's not so much better than anything else out there. This is Apple we're talking about. It should be possible to wow us if they really tried. Or are they so deluded that they think mediocrity will wow us?
    edited August 2016 RobJenkdigital_guytallest skildoozydozen
  • Reply 5 of 71
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    I'd like to see the flexible AMOLED product elaborated upon. Right now it makes no sense.

    And love how people want their product and they want it now. Real R&D takes time, people. Apple began touch-screen research in 2001 and released iPhone in mid-2007. That's 6 years. If there were no leaks from Asia, which is impossible now given Apple's size, no one would know about 2017-2018. Only difference is now we have some predictions. As for now let's wait and see what happens this year—I already have seen a few people call the 9.7" iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever made. Not bad to tide you over until an imagined future.
    edited August 2016 JanNLiqatedowilliamlondonchiaAirunJaenolamacguypscooter63mike1patchythepiratedoozydozen
  • Reply 6 of 71

    Mmm ... I wonder what a guy like Woz, in his day, would do with an A10x (instead of a 6502 with 4 KB external RAM) ... and a guy like Jobs, in his day, would do with the UX.

    edited August 2016 iqatedopscooter63doozydozenjustadcomics
  • Reply 7 of 71
    ireland said:
    I'd like to see the flexible AMOLED product elaborated upon. Right now it makes no sense.

    And love how people want their product and they want it now. Real R&D takes time, people. Apple began touch-screen research in 2001 and released iPhone in mid-2007. That's 6 years. If there were no leaks from Asia, which is impossible now given Apple's size, no one would know about 2017-2018. Only difference is now we have some predictions. As for now let's wait and see what happens this year—I already have seen a few people call the 9.7" iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever made. Not bad to tide you over until an imagined future.
    This constant demand for radical change and revolution and new products every single year is ridiculous. This isn't Apple's fault, neither is it Samsung's fault, neither is it Microsoft's fault, it's very simply due to technology being where it is and providing the basis for products that we have developed and which have become more mature. It's like the world is filled with petulant children running around demanding, "I want, I want, I want," without understanding the world of technology, how it progresses, how devices utilise it and what mature products look like. What the fuck else do we want these products to do, toast bread, would that be revolutionary? There's only so much we'll ever get out of these devices and we're pretty much there, sure minor updates, small innovations, but nothing radical comes along every single year, these children need to reel in their expectations and realise what great products we have today and be patient regarding what comes tomorrow. Look backward and just see what we've had delivered to us by this exciting industry in the past 10 - 20 years, it's actually fucking amazing how things have changed in life in that regard, but it's not logical to expect the same in the next 10 - 20 years.
    realjustinlongtmayAirunJaelondorpaxmannolamacguypscooter63[Deleted User]mike1roundaboutnow
  • Reply 8 of 71
    JanNLJanNL Posts: 327member
    jdw said:

    I want to be wowed by Apple again. I don't want to be strung along playing the waiting game and then get let-down when it finally comes out because it's not so much better than anything else out there. This is Apple we're talking about. It should be possible to wow us if they really tried. Or are they so deluded that they think mediocrity will wow us?
    You can't be wowed by Apple/technology every year.
    It's not Apple's mediocrity, but maybe yours... when your are waiting for technology to wow you (too) often  ;)
    mac fanwilliamlondonchiarealjustinlonglondornolamacguypscooter63jony0doozydozenfastasleep
  • Reply 9 of 71
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    ireland said:
    I'd like to see the flexible AMOLED product elaborated upon. Right now it makes no sense.

    And love how people want their product and they want it now. Real R&D takes time, people. Apple began touch-screen research in 2001 and released iPhone in mid-2007. That's 6 years. If there were no leaks from Asia, which is impossible now given Apple's size, no one would know about 2017-2018. Only difference is now we have some predictions. As for now let's wait and see what happens this year—I already have seen a few people call the 9.7" iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever made. Not bad to tide you over until an imagined future.
    This constant demand for radical change and revolution and new products every single year is ridiculous. This isn't Apple's fault, neither is it Samsung's fault, neither is it Microsoft's fault, it's very simply due to technology being where it is and providing the basis for products that we have developed and which have become more mature. It's like the world is filled with petulant children running around demanding, "I want, I want, I want," without understanding the world of technology, how it progresses, how devices utilise it and what mature products look like. What the fuck else do we want these products to do, toast bread, would that be revolutionary? There's only so much we'll ever get out of these devices and we're pretty much there, sure minor updates, small innovations, but nothing radical comes along every single year, these children need to reel in their expectations and realise what great products we have today and be patient regarding what comes tomorrow. Look backward and just see what we've had delivered to us by this exciting industry in the past 10 - 20 years, it's actually fucking amazing how things have changed in life in that regard, but it's not logical to expect the same in the next 10 - 20 years.
    You might as well say don't bother waiting for Apple, go buy a Samsung S7 Edge.
  • Reply 10 of 71
    cnocbui said:
    This constant demand for radical change and revolution and new products every single year is ridiculous. This isn't Apple's fault, neither is it Samsung's fault, neither is it Microsoft's fault, it's very simply due to technology being where it is and providing the basis for products that we have developed and which have become more mature. It's like the world is filled with petulant children running around demanding, "I want, I want, I want," without understanding the world of technology, how it progresses, how devices utilise it and what mature products look like. What the fuck else do we want these products to do, toast bread, would that be revolutionary? There's only so much we'll ever get out of these devices and we're pretty much there, sure minor updates, small innovations, but nothing radical comes along every single year, these children need to reel in their expectations and realise what great products we have today and be patient regarding what comes tomorrow. Look backward and just see what we've had delivered to us by this exciting industry in the past 10 - 20 years, it's actually fucking amazing how things have changed in life in that regard, but it's not logical to expect the same in the next 10 - 20 years.
    You might as well say don't bother waiting for Apple, go buy a Samsung S7 Edge.
    *You* could say that, but then you obviously didn't read my post but instead decided to do your normal 'negative and/or argumentative' troll thing.
    AirunJaelondornolamacguypscooter63[Deleted User]patchythepiratechiajony0doozydozenroundaboutnow
  • Reply 11 of 71
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,293member
    ireland said:
    I'd like to see the flexible AMOLED product elaborated upon. Right now it makes no sense.

    And love how people want their product and they want it now. Real R&D takes time, people. Apple began touch-screen research in 2001 and released iPhone in mid-2007. That's 6 years. If there were no leaks from Asia, which is impossible now given Apple's size, no one would know about 2017-2018. Only difference is now we have some predictions. As for now let's wait and see what happens this year—I already have seen a few people call the 9.7" iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever made. Not bad to tide you over until an imagined future.
    This constant demand for radical change and revolution and new products every single year is ridiculous. This isn't Apple's fault, neither is it Samsung's fault, neither is it Microsoft's fault, it's very simply due to technology being where it is and providing the basis for products that we have developed and which have become more mature. It's like the world is filled with petulant children running around demanding, "I want, I want, I want," without understanding the world of technology, how it progresses, how devices utilise it and what mature products look like. What the fuck else do we want these products to do, toast bread, would that be revolutionary? There's only so much we'll ever get out of these devices and we're pretty much there, sure minor updates, small innovations, but nothing radical comes along every single year, these children need to reel in their expectations and realise what great products we have today and be patient regarding what comes tomorrow. Look backward and just see what we've had delivered to us by this exciting industry in the past 10 - 20 years, it's actually fucking amazing how things have changed in life in that regard, but it's not logical to expect the same in the next 10 - 20 years.
    I"m very patient, and quite understand Apple's business model, but your last statement is false; we should expect "fucking amazing" in the next 10-20 years, just not necessarily in smartphones.

    This, I think, is the problem that I have with the whinging about Apple (not directed at you) and examples in this thread; it has less to do with Apple than it does with individual expectations of a small niche of users who feel entitled to bleeding edge technology, even if the delivery of that is detrimental to Apple's long term product roadmap.

    My expectation of Apple when they lag behind an Android OEM for a feature, is that Apple has chosen a fork in the road that delivers a better solution farther out. Why throw good money at a deprecated solution? I would note that Apple is all in with computational imaging, and though Apple will provide decent single lens solutions, the focus of its R&D efforts will be on multi-lens solutions. I expect that Apple will meet or exceed the current DxO benchmark for smartphones with the iPhone 7 Plus, not the iPhone 7. This will cause much consternation amongst the "smaller" iPhone users, likely only for a few generations until the costs come down.
    edited August 2016
  • Reply 12 of 71
    roakeroake Posts: 809member
    jdw said:
    Want a great iPhone? Just wait until 2017.
    Want a great iPad. Just wait until 2018.
    Want a Kaby Lake MacBook Pro? Just wait until... well... who knows when.

    I have a great iPhone and a great iPad right now!
    williamlondonnolamacguypscooter63chiaroundaboutnowfastasleepuraharajustadcomicstopper24hours
  • Reply 13 of 71
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    jdw said:
    Want a great iPhone? Just wait until 2017.
    Want a great iPad. Just wait until 2018.
    Want a Kaby Lake MacBook Pro? Just wait until... well... who knows when.

     I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of playing the waiting game. And frankly, until Apple kicks out those promised devices (specifically, OLED tech), all that "blathering" a previous poster spoke of will continue in full force, and rightfully so. If Apple had those devices out now (which except perhaps for Kaby Lake is very possible, seeing other manufacturers have such tech), Apple would sell a huge amount (i.e., more than usual). But by delaying them for so long, our expectations grow higher and higher such that when they debut, our reaction, while still positive, is muted. And some people during that time go off and buy non-Apple products, which make it less likely they will be inclined to by those fancy new Apple devices.

    I want to be wowed by Apple again. I don't want to be strung along playing the waiting game and then get let-down when it finally comes out because it's not so much better than anything else out there. This is Apple we're talking about. It should be possible to wow us if they really tried. Or are they so deluded that they think mediocrity will wow us?
    You are just a parrot repeating the same old garbage you read on some analyst's website. You say you want to be wowed but you can't seem to come up with what would wow you. Screens and CPUs? Batteries? What? Oh goody, Samsung's new phone has an iris scanner. Wow. Most people don't even use their fingerprint scanner let alone be willing to stare at their screens and wait to be logged in. 
    williamlondonnolamacguypscooter63chiafastasleepuraharajustadcomics
  • Reply 14 of 71
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    Ah yes, well-connected Kuo... those other guys? not so much:


    edited August 2016 doozydozenroundaboutnow1983
  • Reply 15 of 71
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,289member
    So 10.5 at 326dpi or iPhone retina would be the same resolution as the current 12.9 at iPad retina and still fit in same device size with reduced bezels.

    interesting call. 
    williamlondonpatchythepirate
  • Reply 16 of 71
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member

    blitz1 said:
    These days at Apple, innovation means little more than variants.
    i stopped holding my breath with the introduction of "new" products
    hmm, that sounds like hater nonsense to me. what was 3D touch a variant of?
    williamlondonpscooter63chiadoozydozentopper24hours
  • Reply 17 of 71
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member

    jdw said:
    Want a great iPhone? Just wait until 2017.
    Want a great iPad. Just wait until 2018.
    Want a Kaby Lake MacBook Pro? Just wait until... well... who knows when.

     I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of playing the waiting game. And frankly, until Apple kicks out those promised devices (specifically, OLED tech), all that "blathering" a previous poster spoke of will continue in full force, and rightfully so. If Apple had those devices out now (which except perhaps for Kaby Lake is very possible, seeing other manufacturers have such tech), Apple would sell a huge amount (i.e., more than usual). But by delaying them for so long, our expectations grow higher and higher such that when they debut, our reaction, while still positive, is muted. And some people during that time go off and buy non-Apple products, which make it less likely they will be inclined to by those fancy new Apple devices.

    I want to be wowed by Apple again. I don't want to be strung along playing the waiting game and then get let-down when it finally comes out because it's not so much better than anything else out there. This is Apple we're talking about. It should be possible to wow us if they really tried. Or are they so deluded that they think mediocrity will wow us?
    if you're so unhappy with life because, uh, no new MacBooks, theres always Windows, right? i mean, you've been through so much hardship. it's just not fair. end the suffering.

    seriously, you're so melodramatic. you make it sound as if apple engineers and designers are sitting there twirling their mustaches, dreaming up new ways to antagonize the spec zealots on rumor forums. it's absurd. apple is the most profitable PC maker in the business -- if they're delaying new updates, there's a reason other than wanting to make you upset. so stop crying about it in public, its not pretty.
    edited August 2016 williamlondonpscooter63chiadoozydozenroundaboutnowfastasleepbadmonktopper24hours
  • Reply 18 of 71
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    ireland said:
    I'd like to see the flexible AMOLED product elaborated upon. Right now it makes no sense.

    And love how people want their product and they want it now. Real R&D takes time, people. Apple began touch-screen research in 2001 and released iPhone in mid-2007. That's 6 years. If there were no leaks from Asia, which is impossible now given Apple's size, no one would know about 2017-2018. Only difference is now we have some predictions. As for now let's wait and see what happens this year—I already have seen a few people call the 9.7" iPad Pro the best product Apple has ever made. Not bad to tide you over until an imagined future.
    This constant demand for radical change and revolution and new products every single year is ridiculous. This isn't Apple's fault, neither is it Samsung's fault, neither is it Microsoft's fault, it's very simply due to technology being where it is and providing the basis for products that we have developed and which have become more mature. It's like the world is filled with petulant children running around demanding, "I want, I want, I want," without understanding the world of technology, how it progresses, how devices utilise it and what mature products look like. What the fuck else do we want these products to do, toast bread, would that be revolutionary? There's only so much we'll ever get out of these devices and we're pretty much there, sure minor updates, small innovations, but nothing radical comes along every single year, these children need to reel in their expectations and realise what great products we have today and be patient regarding what comes tomorrow. Look backward and just see what we've had delivered to us by this exciting industry in the past 10 - 20 years, it's actually fucking amazing how things have changed in life in that regard, but it's not logical to expect the same in the next 10 - 20 years.
    Truth. I use an iMac pre 5k and a more recent MBP. Both these machines are very capable and I haven't ever met anyone for whom either would not be sufficient for their daily needs. The word 'revolutionary' is a marketing term and anyone who seriously use it to describe a new laptop or smart phone iteration is a fool. The personal computer itself was revolutionary, and you could argue that we are still in the middle of this revolution, but to expect any new device to be revolutionary is ridiculous. 

    jdw said:
     I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sick of playing the waiting game. And frankly, until Apple kicks out those promised devices (specifically, OLED tech), all that "blathering" a previous poster spoke of will continue in full force, and rightfully so. If Apple had those devices out now (which except perhaps for Kaby Lake is very possible, seeing other manufacturers have such tech), Apple would sell a huge amount (i.e., more than usual). But by delaying them for so long, our expectations grow higher and higher such that when they debut, our reaction, while still positive, is muted. And some people during that time go off and buy non-Apple products, which make it less likely they will be inclined to by those fancy new Apple devices.

    I want to be wowed by Apple again. I don't want to be strung along playing the waiting game and then get let-down when it finally comes out because it's not so much better than anything else out there. This is Apple we're talking about. It should be possible to wow us if they really tried. Or are they so deluded that they think mediocrity will wow us?
    The waiting game is a fools game. There will always be great things on the horizon. It is not that hard to be wowed by Apple, you just have to manage your expectation. By the time Apple announces anything new we all know what it will be, and people have raised their expectations to fantasy levels. No wonder it all seems a little disappointing. Anyone who is willing to leave the Apple ecosystem and all the time and energy they have invested in it, and move to another system and figure all its foibles out just because thats the only way they can get a laptop with a faster processor has too much time on their hands imo. But over time, if you have observed that another platform is better and offers you more choices and you decide to move over, it really is not that big of a deal. If you do processor intensive work such as graphics or video editing and top end performance is essential you'd be pretty foolish to insist on using an Apple system for that job if competitors are offering more powerful and more capable alternatives.
    edited August 2016 williamlondongatorguynolamacguychiadoozydozenroundaboutnowfastasleepurahara
  • Reply 19 of 71
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    So, an iPad that is slightly larger than the original iPad, much larger than the smallest version but slightly smaller than the new size iPad.
    Have Apple just hired someone from Samsung?

    If they stick a larger screen into the same size form factor by reducing bezels and removing the home button, fair enough.
    edited August 2016 doozydozen
  • Reply 20 of 71
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    bluefire1 said:
    This is excellent news. The 2017 iPhone and the 2018 iPad should finally minimize the blathering we've been hearing from critics. Apple knows what it's doing, and won't rush to be the first to get a product to market. They'll wait until it's done right.
    Terrible news if you are in the market for a new iPad!
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