Chinese site claims design of Apple's 7-inch iPad is 'finished'
Though questionable, rumors of a 7-inch iPad from Apple continue to crop up, with a new report alleging the device is now a "finished product."
Citing rumors from production plants in Shenzhen, China, Shanzai.com reported Friday that Apple is in fact working on a 7-inch tablet, though its alleged design is said to be more like an iPhone 4.
"Yes there will be a (7-inch) tablet, yes it's well underway in terms of product development and in fact it?s a finished product," the report said. "Yes 5 plus different designs have been floating around to help Apple protect itself from people discovering its next product look and feel but... the final design will in fact bear more resemblance to the iPhone 4 stylings than the original iPad design."
Rumors began to crop up in April, soon after the iPad launched in the U.S., that Apple was working on a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad. The reports have primarily come from overseas publications citing sources in Apple's supply chain.
In August, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News claimed that Apple was pursuing an iPad with a smaller screen and lighter weight, because the current 9.7-inch device is too big and heavy for some users. That report alleged that the new model will cut its weight from 700 grams to 500 grams.
Though questionable, the persistent rumors have been specific in some cases, with another report claiming the device will feature a Cortex-A9 processor and a screen resolution of 1,024-by-768 pixels. However, that same DigiTimes report also inaccurately claimed that a new Apple TV, powered by the AMD Fusion hybrid processor, would connect to Apple's App Store and go into mass production in December.
Citing rumors from production plants in Shenzhen, China, Shanzai.com reported Friday that Apple is in fact working on a 7-inch tablet, though its alleged design is said to be more like an iPhone 4.
"Yes there will be a (7-inch) tablet, yes it's well underway in terms of product development and in fact it?s a finished product," the report said. "Yes 5 plus different designs have been floating around to help Apple protect itself from people discovering its next product look and feel but... the final design will in fact bear more resemblance to the iPhone 4 stylings than the original iPad design."
Rumors began to crop up in April, soon after the iPad launched in the U.S., that Apple was working on a smaller, cheaper version of the iPad. The reports have primarily come from overseas publications citing sources in Apple's supply chain.
In August, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News claimed that Apple was pursuing an iPad with a smaller screen and lighter weight, because the current 9.7-inch device is too big and heavy for some users. That report alleged that the new model will cut its weight from 700 grams to 500 grams.
Though questionable, the persistent rumors have been specific in some cases, with another report claiming the device will feature a Cortex-A9 processor and a screen resolution of 1,024-by-768 pixels. However, that same DigiTimes report also inaccurately claimed that a new Apple TV, powered by the AMD Fusion hybrid processor, would connect to Apple's App Store and go into mass production in December.
Comments
I sure hope they wake up and make it 16x9.
I sure hope you wake up and see it's not an Apple product.
And Apple made the iPad 4:3 for a reason. You want 16:9, buy a Dell tablet.
Does that mean current model 10'' screen size will be discontinued?
At 2 to 3 million sales a month within the first 6 months I wouldn?t think so.
The only thing that would make sense is if Apple added more bells and whistles to the $499 10" iPad - like a Camera/GPS/Gyroscope, and increase the price point by $100, leaving the $499 price point for the 7" iPad. Still, I don't see that happening as the 10" iPad is a runaway success, and I don't see Apple doing anything to tamper with that.
Just sayin'.
I would welcome such a move because the current iPad is too heavy to hold it for long period of time reading something on it. After a while it feels like its made out of lead. I don't mind the size but it should be lighter! A 7'' light tablet would be great.
There is certainly a market now for these tablets and I think a 7? model would thrive. Though one of Apple?s greatest strengths is also one of their greatest weaknesses when trying to come to market, which makes me wonder how legit this is. Apple isn?t going to simply crunch the 10? iPad UI into a 7? iPad display or spread the iPod Touch UI onto a 7? iPad display.
They will tailor the UI and OS to be idealized for this device. They will also need a new SDK and App Store portal for these tailored apps. I can?t see Apple doing it any other way.
It?s possible they worked on many different sizes simultaneously so that they can release the new size with a complete ecosystem addition within a year of the first iPad launching, but I have doubts about that. It may cause consumer confusion and, let?s be realistic, they aren?t even getting iOS 4.x for the iPad until November and Apple still only has one iPhone design per year, so a 7? iPad this soon seems very un-Apple to me (though I hope this does come out).
The new iPad mini would compete better with other ereaders like the Kindle, and the lower price would surely make it more appealing. When I first heard about it I rolled my eyes, it seemed like a joke. But it is a reasonable marketing tactic in the end.
And no it will NOT be 16:9, because Apple isn't a completely stupid couch nerd.
Someone please tell me where a 7" iPad would fit in Apple's product line? There's a 64GB iPod Touch for $399 and a 9.7" 16GB iPad for $499. I don't see Apple offering a 7" tablet at $399 - the same price as their top of the line iPod touch, and it makes no sense to price it more than the iPad.
There is no logical reason not to have a 3.5" iPod, 7" iPad and a 10" iPad all at the same price. It is not like people are asking for a 7" iPad because the 10" is too expensive and the iPod is too cheap. They want a larger screen than a iPod and a smaller lighter device than a 10" iPad. It could make perfect sense to make the 7" versions the same price as equivalent 10" versions and let people choose the form factor that fits their needs. Much like the Droid2 and DroidX.
The iPad's 1024x768 role is obvious ... people "hire" an iPad to do the jobs they'd rather not do on a laptop ... causal games, casual content creation, consume video, tweet, blog, email, balance their chequebook, etc. The screen real estate, battery life, form factor etc all make this possible.
An iPod touch or iPhone can't do some of these things as efficiently, that is, low enough cost of entry barrier to make me hire it do to those tasks. Shooting out a decent sized blog post on the iPod touch is posible, but painful. Ditto web surfing. And I'd far rather read my newsgroups on an iPad, rather than the (comparatively) tiny screen of a touch or iPhone.
I'm not convinced the 7" form factor brings any efficiency to these sorts of jobs that the iPad perfectly fulfils. The screen real estate and keyboard issues alone may make it a bit better than a touch-sized device, but I'm not sure enough that most won't go for the existing iPad factor instead.
That's my 20 years of design and marketing input, anyway, worth about $0.02.
My guess is that factory workers are leaking details of tablets from other manufacturers - and mistakenly assuming they are from Apple. This has often happened with phone parts.
C.
I sure hope they wake up and make it 16x9.
If the price is right, the aspect ratio is right and it will be able to view 'net videos, I'd be interested.
Agreed. They need something in a more Newtonesque form factor.
I'll ask the obvious question for anyone not familiar with Clayton Christensen's book, The Innovator's Solution ... What job does a 7" tablet form factor do? Or, what role would that size play?
The iPad's 1024x768 role is obvious ... people "hire" an iPad to do the jobs they'd rather not do on a laptop ... causal games, casual content creation, consume video, tweet, blog, email, balance their chequebook, etc. The screen real estate, battery life, form factor etc all make this possible.
An iPod touch or iPhone can't do some of these things as efficiently, that is, low enough cost of entry barrier to make me hire it do to those tasks. Shooting out a decent sized blog post on the iPod touch is posible, but painful. Ditto web surfing. And I'd far rather read my newsgroups on an iPad, rather than the (comparatively) tiny screen of a touch or iPhone.
I'm not convinced the 7" form factor brings any efficiency to these sorts of jobs that the iPad perfectly fulfils. The screen real estate and keyboard issues alone may make it a bit better than a touch-sized device, but I'm not sure enough that most won't go for the existing iPad factor instead.
That's my 20 years of design and marketing input, anyway, worth about $0.02.
20 years hasn't told you that none of that matters, people will buy these models based on:
#1 Price.
#2 Portability.
If they can afford any of them, they'll pick the one they want to carry around. If they x hundred dollars, they buy the one that costs that.
Pretty simple. I'm sure we're not talking about whether or not people will buy them, as that would unimaginably stupid. There were plenty of people who took the time to make themselves look as stupid as possible in this category, from January 2010 - about the late April Early May timeframe. Then the shutting up, began.
Agreed. They need something in a more Newtonesque form factor.
Yeah, that old Newton was a great success wasn't it?
C.
9.7" iPad is too large to fit in my white coat pocket. If it moves to 7", Apple opens up an entirely new revenue stream of hospitals wanting to buy one for every doctor on staff. Plus, there's a lot of bezel on the current version I consider wasted space!
It's a really good thing you are not a designer then, as that bezel has about as much if not more function than the screen itself.
Ever pay any attention to where you hold the device every single time it's picked up!!!!!!
Christ
It seems to me that if this rumour was true, then Apple would have been moving heaven and earth for a Christmas season release.
Just sayin'.
Could someone (swtchdtomak) tell me what '"just sayin'" means, after, um, saying something. If it means that you are disengaged or in denial and therefor don't mean the words, why are you saying them? If you do mean them, why are you lying about it?
I don't buy it. A 7" screen is half the area of the 10". But is not any more pocketable or portable.
C.
Oh yes it is. Inner pocket of a jacket. Would make the perfect paperback replacement for me - I'd buy both sizes, one for home use (and when I plan to bring a bag) and the other for reading books + web surfing and casual website updates on the go (Wordpress)...