Could an iPad Pro be on the horizon?
Apple is planning to introduce a large-screened 12.9-inch iPad tablet next year, according to a Bloomberg report .
Sources claim the company will begin manufacturing the device, often dubbed the iPad Pro, by the first quarter of the 2015.
If those ‘people with knowledge of the matter’ are to be believed, that could mean the larger device could be on sale around next spring.
According to the report, Apple has been working with display suppliers for more than a year to “develop a new range of larger touchscreens” as CEO Tim Cook attempts to “shake up” the iPad line.
Sales of the slates are slowing despite the launches of the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2 with Retina Display in the last year representing the pinnacle of Apple’s work in the sector so far.
Sales were down 9 per cent in the last quarter and Google is also encroaching on territory Apple practically owned until the last couple of years.
According to research firm IDC, the iPad had 27 per cent share of the tablet market right now, down from Gatner’s estimate of 32 per cent at the end of 2013. That figure was 53 per cent when the curtain came down on 2012.
Apple is expected to launch a new iPad Air and iPad mini before the Christmas season rolls around at an event expected shortly after the new iPhones arrive on September 9.
Can the iPad Pro revive Apple’s along iPad sales? Let us know your thoughts below.
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