Apple Reportedly Working On 12-Inch iPad With World's Largest Notebook Producer
September 25, 2013
Apple is rumored to be working on a new 12-inch version of the iPad. According to the Taiwanese publication United Daily News, the tech giant is developing the supposed "giant" of a tablet model with partner manufacturer Quanta Computer.
As noted by Apple Insider, Quanta Computer has long been a supplier of Apple, having made a number of products for the California-based company. These include the video-enabled iPod in 2006 and the latest MacBook Air lineup.
The Taiwan-based manufacturer is the largest producer of notebook computers in the world. But this new rumor suggests that it's open to making large-screen tablet computers as consumer preference has risen for tablets, most notably the iPad, over notebooks.
Apparently, this preference has been a point of consideration for Apple in its rumored move to offer a new iPad model with a bigger screen — bigger than the current 9.7-inch iPad and much bigger than the 7.9-inch iPad mini.
Of course, this isn't the first time that we've heard reports of the so-called "iPad maxi." Such reports have even included one from The Wall Street Journal, which claimed last July that Apple had been testing a 13-inch version of the iPad along with bigger versions of the iPhone.
Apple is expected to launch both a fifth-generation iPad and a second-generation iPad mini before the end of this year. The fifth-generation iPad is said to have the same 9.7-inch Retina screen as in the current generation, but the rest of its external hardware is patterned after the iPad mini's. As for the second-generation iPad mini, it's believed to sport a 7.9-inch Retina display.
