Everyone might be tripping over themselves to talk about the possible Apple Car, but there’s a much-more imminent Apple device rumored to be on the way: the 12-inch+ “iPad Pro” tablet.
Over the weekend, French Apple-watching website Nowhereelse.fr shared a handful of new pictures of the mythical plus-sized iPad, claiming to be photos of a third-party case for the device.
The photos give some indication of just how big the iPad Pro would look alongside today’s iPad Air 2. As with existing current iPad cases, the iPad Pro case features cutout sections for a Lightning connector, microphone, volume rocker, mute switch, rear-facing camera, and power button. It’s not clear from the picture whether the tablet will boast a 12.2-inch screen or a 12.9-inch one: both of which have been rumored so far.
Check out another picture — and additional information — after the jump.
The iPad Pro is reportedly Apple’s big (no pun intended) move designed to give iPad sales a boost after a steep period of decline, which even Tim Cook has acknowledged is a speed bump in the device’s lifespan. Recently, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that iPad sales will continue to fall by as much as 30% in 2015.
Compared to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which sold a massive 74.5 million units in the last three months of 2014 alone, Kuo thinks the iPad will “struggle to top” 45 million units in the whole of this year.
The iPad Pro will add some of the iPhone 6’s “bigger is better” philosophy to Apple’s tablet line, while also potentially opening up new applications in the productivity space, thanks to the larger screen real estate. With that in mind, it has been rumored to come with Apple’s first official stylus since the Newton MessagePad in the 1990s.
It is worth pointing out, however, that not all third-party cases turn out to be predictive of actual Apple devices. While this leak may be based on insider supply chain knowledge (something Apple has been pushing to cut down on as of late), it’s also just as likely that it could be entirely based on existing rumors about the iPad Pro, as circulated in the blogosphere.
Either way, it has me excited. Would you buy a 12-inch+ iPad? Leave your comments in the box below.
