The iPad Air 2 will see a boost through holiday sales. At the same time, the first sets of iOS apps created by the collaboration between IBM and Apple will start hitting the market, which should goose some enterprise iPad sales. IBM, by the way, will be able to sell the iPad directly into its enterprise accounts, which also fuels new iPad 'Pro' version rumors.
Rumours of a larger-screen iPad 'Pro' have been floating around since early this year. Most of them have suggested variations on a supposed 12.9-inch screen size. As soon as they rise, though, they're buried by another news wave. The latest to surface is a report in the Japanese techblog macotakara.
The upcoming iPad Pro reportedly will have a 12.2-inch screen and not the more widely rumoured 12.9-inch screen.
In addition, the iPad Pro will be thicker than an iPhone 6 but thinner than an iPhone 6 Plus -- and definitely thicker than the current iPad Air 2. Most other design features will be similar to the iPad Air 2, but the Pro version may have speakers capable of stereo playback.
Although the Japanese-language site seems to label the post as a "rumor," it claims the information comes from a "reliable source" who remains unnamed.
Repetition Vs Truth
Therein lies the usual trouble with tech rumours. The source could be reporting on some discarded casing of a prototype. The source could work for a display provider that produces screens in a 12.2-inch size, and this effort could be an elaborate move to cast attention to some other company entirely.
Or the site could have decided to nudge the conversation along -- if not for traffic, then perhaps in the hope of generating interest in a 'Pro' version to help influence Apple in that direction.
The point is, after a rumour is repeated dozens, if not hundreds, of times on-line, it seems to take on a new measure of validity that it may or may not deserve. Still, U.S.-based Apple rumour site Apple Insider notes that macotakara "has at times unearthed details about Apple's future product designs that turn out to be fairly accurate."
That said, widely cited Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who has a pretty good track record, has been reporting to his investors that Apple has had a 12.9-inch iPad in development for quite some time.
If it's Truth
If the rumor of a larger iPad Pro is true -- never mind the difference between 12.9 and 12.2 inches -- the confidence of Apple CEO Tim Cook attributing the slowdown in iPad sales to a "speed bump" becomes much more believable.
Apple wouldn't have to rely so much on new markets and IBM apps to drive rising sales, as plenty of existing iPad fans would have a reason to buy into the iPad line once again..:P
No comments:
Post a Comment