Apple planning to release 12.9-inch iPad in early 2015, says Bloomberg
Rumors pointing toward a so-called “iPad maxi” have just reemerged.
According to a new report by Blooomberg citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” Apple is set to begin production on a 12.9-inch iPad, its largest ever tablet, in the first quarter of next year:
The new iPad will have a screen measuring 12.9 inches diagonally, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. Apple currently produces iPads with 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch displays. The Cupertino, California-based company has been working with suppliers for at least a year to develop a new range of larger touch-screen devices, said the people.
Reports of Apple’s supposed plans to launch a larger iPad first emerged over a year ago, including one from The Wall Street Journal that claimed Apple had been testing “a new tablet device measuring slightly less than 13 inches diagonally.”
Bloomberg notes that with the launch of a larger iPad, Apple CEO Tim Cook is “working to shake up” Apple’s tablet line following a decline in iPad sales — which Cook, in a recent interview with Re/code, called “a speed bump.”
Apple is also expected to introduce new versions of its current 9.7-inch iPad Air and 7.9-inch iPad mini later this year.
The company is rumored to hold a special media event on Sept. 9 to introduce its next-generation smartphone. The device, dubbed “iPhone 6,” is said to come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models.
