Rumor: 12.9-inch iPad Coming Early 2014

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

An unnamed official at a local Apple supplier in Korea told The Korea Times by telephone that Apple's local first-tier display supplier is currently producing a 12.9-inch Retina display for a new "maxi" iPad slated to launch early next year, possibly in March. This panel is being manufactured by the supplier's plant in Korea, the source added.

Rumors of a larger iPad have been floating around for a while, and the device is supposedly part of Apple's goal of breaking from the pattern it created with the iPad and iPhone. Even the Wall Street Journal chimed in on the rumor bandwagon back in July, reporting that Apple was testing larger screens for iPhone and iPad devices, including a 13-inch prototype iPad, to reel in customers who are preferring the larger sizes.

"The 12.9-inch iPad will have improved picture quality. As the Apple partner intends to boost its lineup for displays that have almost ultra high-definition (UHD) quality, the upcoming iPad will provide very clear quality similar to that of UHD," said the official.

Earlier this month, Chinese-based Pad News claimed that longtime Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is currently testing a new, large-format iPad, supporting either a screen measuring 11.4 inches diagonally or a 12.9-inch screen. The site said the tablet is in an advanced stage of testing, and Apple plans to reveal the device in March.

Back in September, Chinese publication United Daily News claimed that Apple is actively working on a larger iPad that will be constructed by Taiwan-based Quanta, another one of Apple's manufacturing partners that produced the latest MacBook Air models along with the video iPod from 2006.  Quanta is supposedly looking to diversify away from the thin-and-light laptop sector, as it's being eaten away by tablets.

Needless to say, the big iPad rumors have been blazing through the rumor mill over the last several months, and point to a March reveal. Even Barclays Equity Research told CNET that it believes a 13-inch iPad could be in the works as a replacement for laptops. Is Apple looking to replace the small laptop form factor with an iPad and a keyboard dock? That's what it's looking like so far.

Kevin Parrish
16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • m32
    Can anyone else smell $900?
    Reply
  • Mlim666
    "Maxi" Pad... Someone is trolling.
    Reply
  • house70
    MAXiPAD... for the heavy "workflow", lol.

    12059912 said:
    Can anyone else smell $900?
    Can already smell that with the new iPad.

    Reply
  • tntom
    Well I have had a few people asking me if they made an iPad larger than the 9.7" model. So I could see this if it comes in around 1.2 lbs. It might even have a plastic back.
    Reply
  • JD88
    12060008 said:
    What a load of bollocks. They already suffered from the onslaught of 6-8" tablets running android because there wasn't an iPad small enough until they finally and begrudgingly released the mini. A larger tablet is just stupid, unless it can be docked with a keyboard/processor wedge as a transformable iPad/macbook air.

    Even when paired with a keyboard, a 13" tablet would be pretty clumsy. My guess is most people would never use it undocked therefore a traditional notebook would be a better option. In my opinion this holds true for just about anything bigger than 10". Around 7-9" seems to be the idea form factor.
    Reply
  • kenyee
    Surrrrreeeee.....just like the 5" iPhone that was supposed to show up in 2013. Sounds like vaporware FUD to me. Anything to keep iOS people from trying something else... :-P
    Reply
  • Immaculate
    Maxipad ohh my that is some good stuff, and to think someone actually believed maxi pad enough to publish it. Im guessing the translation is supposed to be ipad max.
    Reply
  • Solandri
    12060342 said:
    Even when paired with a keyboard, a 13" tablet would be pretty clumsy. My guess is most people would never use it undocked therefore a traditional notebook would be a better option. In my opinion this holds true for just about anything bigger than 10". Around 7-9" seems to be the idea form factor.
    Folks, a letter-sized sheet of paper with 0.5" margins has a 12.5" diagonal; with 3/4" margins it's 11.8" diagonal. An A4-sized sheet of paper with 2 cm margins is 12.1" diagonal. I've always maintained that 12"-13" diagonal is the perfect size for a tablet. The 9.7"-10.1" tablets we've been living with so far are a concession to technology not yet being good enough to provide paper-like size at a reasonable weight and price.

    7" diagonal with a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio is pretty much a spot-on match for the text area of a paperback book. That's why that size tablet has been so successful. And 12"-13" diagonal is pretty much a spot-on match for the text area of a piece of paper (4:3 if letter-sized, 3:2 if A4). That's what it's going to take for tablets to truly replace the clipboard and paper. Remember, that's the ultimate competitor here -- not the iPad or Galaxy Tab, but paper. Once the technology is able to deliver it at a reasonable weight and price, I expect the 12"-13" tablets to completely take over and 10" tablets to become a distant memory.
    Reply
  • avatar_raq
    iPad pro.
    Reply
  • schnitter
    So they want to make something that doesn't need to be bigger bigger (iPad) and keep the same small screen on something that DOES need to go bigger (iPhone). And to top it off, they call it the Maxi-Pad.... I hope they get sued by lady products company.
    Reply