Rumor: Apple's trio of new iPads may not launch until second half of 2017

Posted:
in iPad edited February 2017
Though rumors have pegged an Apple event for March to unveil three new iPads, the latest supply chain scuffle suggests that the updated 9.7-, 10.5- and 12.9-inch touchscreen tablets may not find their ways into the hands of consumers until the latter half of the year.




Citing details gleaned from the upstream supply chain, DigiTimes reported on Thursday that the internals of the tablets are still in the planning phases. As a result, shipment of new tablets from Apple may not happen until the second half of 2017.

It should be noted that while DigiTimes is a good supply chain trend monitor, the publication has a spotty record detailing specifications and timelines of future Apple products.

For example, back in 2014, the Taiwanese outlet nailed many of the details about Apple's then-rumored 12-inch MacBook, but gave the ultraportable handset an incredibly vague 15-month launch window. The notebook ultimately launched in April of 2015.

Regarding Thursday's latest iPad rumor, the latest supply chain information discovered suggests that the 10.5-inch iPad, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will have Apple's beefed-up "A10X" processor. Not clear is what processor will power the 9.7-inch iPad, as it is said to focus on the education sector, in much the same way as the eMac originally did, and the MacBook Air does now.

The display for the 9.7-inch iPad will shift to Korea-based Seoul Semiconductior according to the latest information, shifting away from current supplier Nichia. Other components for the entry-level device will reportedly be sourced from "secondary suppliers."

The first rumors about a 10.5-inch iPad started circulating in August, with other discussions focusing on a 10.9-inch model the same thickness as the iPad Air.

From an OS perspective, the 10.5-inch size makes more sense than the 10.9-inch one. If it keeps the same proportion and pixel density as its predecessors, the width of the 10.5-inch iPad is the same height as the iPad mini. A switch to a 10.5-inch screen would allow Apple to boost its flagship model to a 326-pixel-per-inch screen density, an upgrade from the current 264 pixels per inch.

There have been no recent supply chain reports suggesting that the iPad mini, which has not been updated since 2015, will see a refresh.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    DigiTimes? Ignore...
    Rayz2016netmage[Deleted User]
  • Reply 2 of 25
    birkobirko Posts: 60member
    Don't care. My iPad 2 still serves me well. No need for a new one yet.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Correction, Mike. The crazy detail about the displays that DigiTimes notes in an awkward paragraph actually concerns the LED backlight for the LCD, not the LCD display itself. 

    Big news! Backlights being supplied by Seoul Semiconductor instead of Japan's Nichia! (But only for the poor old 9.7.)
    edited January 2017 netmage
  • Reply 4 of 25
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    2nd half of '17 would put the refresh for the 12.9" iPad Pro at close to or even more than 2 years, something they've never done with iPads, so barring significant supply issues, I can't see them doing that.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    What would be the point of that? Everything announced at the same time (watch,airpods,Iphone,Ipads, AppleTV) and essentially no refresh for Ipad Pro 12.9 for more than 1.5 years....

    That's also pretty bad for spreading revenues around the year.
  • Reply 6 of 25
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Time to depress AAPL. Gotta satisfy the shorts. Happens like clockwork before every quarterly report.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    lkrupp said:
    Time to depress AAPL. Gotta satisfy the shorts. Happens like clockwork before every quarterly report.
    Cook's biggest mistake: paying out dividends.
    netmage
  • Reply 8 of 25
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    Rayz2016 said:
    lkrupp said:
    Time to depress AAPL. Gotta satisfy the shorts. Happens like clockwork before every quarterly report.
    Cook's biggest mistake: paying out dividends.
    The stock was manipulated just as much before dividends were reintroduced. Also, Apple was having trouble putting all its cash to good use, so what else to do with the shareholder's money?
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 9 of 25
    jdgazjdgaz Posts: 403member
    Waiting for new models to pull the trigger. My 3 is way under rammed. Can barely load updates without shutting down 3 or 4 times. I keep paring the list of APPS on it to try to make it hold out for a few more months. March would be nice.
    edited January 2017
  • Reply 10 of 25
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    MplsP said:
    2nd half of '17 would put the refresh for the 12.9" iPad Pro at close to or even more than 2 years, something they've never done with iPads, so barring significant supply issues, I can't see them doing that.
    Yes, but now they have put "Pro" at the end of the name. That's the kiss of death for timely updates. 
    crowleyxbitretrogustosmack416
  • Reply 11 of 25
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    I'm on my third iPad since the original launched, I think it is an iPad Air? My point is unless disaster strikes and you current iPad is no more than there is little reason to buy a new one at least based on tech or design advances. I feel this way towards Apple's complete product range, I read AI to keep up and when it is time to buy new I want to be well informed. 
  • Reply 12 of 25
    xbitxbit Posts: 390member
    Well done for calling Digitimes out for being bullshit peddlers.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Well, that would be unfortunate, if true - my original iPad mini is struggling in many ways,
    and I've been waiting for these updates to decide what to replace it with...
    Still, as tempting as "sooner rather than later" seems, 
    I think I'd opt for "righter rather than wronger", if that's in play.
  • Reply 14 of 25
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    spice-boy said:
    I'm on my third iPad since the original launched, I think it is an iPad Air? My point is unless disaster strikes and you current iPad is no more than there is little reason to buy a new one at least based on tech or design advances. I feel this way towards Apple's complete product range, I read AI to keep up and when it is time to buy new I want to be well informed. 
    I have the feeling that the 326 ppi 10.5 wide-gamut (presumably) True Tone display will be the best picture you can hold in your hands ever, and will cause some excitement among image addicts in many fields. 

    Could be that this is the reason that Tim Cook said a year ago or so that the iPad line would return to revenue growth, though he did say that would happen before the end of 2016. Maybe the 10.5 is late in coming out, or maybe the higher ASPs for the line, with its two Pro models, are what he was counting on to raise revenues. We shall see at the end of this month.
  • Reply 15 of 25
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    New iPads need to get released soon!!! I really need to replace my iPad 3 with a new one as it's so SSLLLOOOOWWWWWW. I don't want a NEW iPad, I want prices to drop more for a nice used iPad Air 2 with 128 gig's. That would be more then good enough for my needs.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    birko said:
    Don't care. My iPad 2 still serves me well. No need for a new one yet.
    I tried using Safari on my father's iPad 2 over the holidays and it was horribly slow. 

    But it didn't used to be that way -- the iPad 2 used to be a perfectly cromulent device for web surfing. I think what has changed is that the web has added a bunch of CPU-draining cruft. If the iPad 2 supported a version of iOS that allowed Safari content blockers, then perhaps that would be a way around part of that cruft. But alas, it does not. 

    I'm finding that even my iPad Air is starting to have some performance issues. 
  • Reply 17 of 25
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,109member
    blastdoor said:
    birko said:
    Don't care. My iPad 2 still serves me well. No need for a new one yet.
    I tried using Safari on my father's iPad 2 over the holidays and it was horribly slow. 

    But it didn't used to be that way -- the iPad 2 used to be a perfectly cromulent device for web surfing. I think what has changed is that the web has added a bunch of CPU-draining cruft. If the iPad 2 supported a version of iOS that allowed Safari content blockers, then perhaps that would be a way around part of that cruft. But alas, it does not. 

    I'm finding that even my iPad Air is starting to have some performance issues. 
    Yeah, my iPad 2 got daily use and served me very well for years (bought it on day 1), but now it struggles and crashes a lot when browsing. eBay gives me constant error messages that make it unusable. If it weren't for that, I'd use it forever. 
  • Reply 18 of 25
    blastdoor said:
    birko said:
    Don't care. My iPad 2 still serves me well. No need for a new one yet.
    I tried using Safari on my father's iPad 2 over the holidays and it was horribly slow. 

    But it didn't used to be that way -- the iPad 2 used to be a perfectly cromulent device for web surfing. I think what has changed is that the web has added a bunch of CPU-draining cruft. If the iPad 2 supported a version of iOS that allowed Safari content blockers, then perhaps that would be a way around part of that cruft. But alas, it does not. 

    I'm finding that even my iPad Air is starting to have some performance issues. 

    I'm with you.

    iOS 10 is really beating up my iPad 4 to the point where it's not enjoyable to use. It's choppy, sluggish, and lots of times it just stops responding to input for a while. I assume that iOS 11 will not even be made available for it. I plan on buying a new iPad as soon as new models come out. (Not all that interested in buying the two year old iPad Air 2, though)
  • Reply 19 of 25
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    blastdoor said:
    birko said:
    Don't care. My iPad 2 still serves me well. No need for a new one yet.
    I tried using Safari on my father's iPad 2 over the holidays and it was horribly slow. 

    But it didn't used to be that way -- the iPad 2 used to be a perfectly cromulent device for web surfing. I think what has changed is that the web has added a bunch of CPU-draining cruft. If the iPad 2 supported a version of iOS that allowed Safari content blockers, then perhaps that would be a way around part of that cruft. But alas, it does not. 

    I'm finding that even my iPad Air is starting to have some performance issues. 

    I'm with you.

    iOS 10 is really beating up my iPad 4 to the point where it's not enjoyable to use. It's choppy, sluggish, and lots of times it just stops responding to input for a while. I assume that iOS 11 will not even be made available for it. I plan on buying a new iPad as soon as new models come out. (Not all that interested in buying the two year old iPad Air 2, though)
    Yeah, I'm becoming increasingly interested in an iPad Pro, and I'll probably buy the pencil, too. 

    But as I look at the 2009 Mac Pro sitting on my desk, I do seriously worry about that "Pro" moniker. 
  • Reply 20 of 25
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    I hope the redesigned 'entry level' 9.7" iPad remains a quality product and that they don't penny pinch.
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