Rumor: 12.9-inch iPad Coming Early 2014
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.
Can already smell that with the new iPad.
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.
I wonder if all the REVIEW sites slamming 13" tablets (HP Split 13) will change their point of view? Answer: Of course they will. $$$$$
I was at a wedding this summer and it was so bad that my nephew finally just held up a giant piece of cardboard over his head to mock the fools, and they didn't even get it.