Bigger is always better, right? That’s been Samsung’s philosophy when it comes to smartphone screens, but the latest bits of gossip from the rumor mill suggest Apple might be looking to embrace that matra with its iPad displays.
A new report claims that Apple is preparing to build a 12.9-inch iPad for release in 2014, which may sound somewhat outlandish, except we’ve heard similar claims from the WSJ and other analysts.
According to Korea Times’ sources, Apple has already asked its top suppliers to start making the 12.9-inch touchscreens screens that will be included in its 2014 iPad lineup that is expected to improve picture quality as consumers move away from PCs and towards tablets as their main computing device:
“Apple’s local first-tier display supplier is now producing a 12.9-inch Retina Display to be used in the new iPad, which will be coming out sometime early next year. That display is now being manufactured by the supplier’s plant in Korea.
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.”
Apple plays with different display sizes when prototyping all the time but this time it sounds like it’s starting to lineup production deals for a finished project, so maybe we actually will see this rumor come to life.
Some analysts have suggested that Apple is making a MacBook Air/iPad hybrid, though that seems unlikely as the company has mocked Microsoft’s Surface efforts, as well as other tablet-laptop hybrids on the market. However, if you slapped a detachable keyboard on it and sold base models for under $700, a 13-inch iPad might make sense as Apple’s most affordable full-scale computer.
Source: Korea Times