iPad 64 bit hardware release cycle

[thefredelement]

Do you think Apple will release the next generation iPad in less than 12 months?

With hindsight being 20/20, it looked like the iPad 3rd gen was a test run for retina displays and then they hammered it down with the A6X. I'm wondering if the same thing is happening here with the Air.

They have the 64bit kernel now out in the wild with a bunch of 64 bit binaries in iWork & iLife and stock apps.

I didn't really care about the 1GB of RAM until I got the Air and it just feels wrong with the amount of crashing. I know there's a lot of talk about it just being iOS 7, but iOS 7 in 32 bit and 64 bit are two vastly different animals. As the Air is spec'd to run iOS 7 full bore (not like a 3rd gen or older iPhone) and in 64 bit, and with that amount of pixels to push, I wonder if this is just a very transitional piece of hardware in a longer development cycle.

I also wonder what the value will be as far as re-sale goes if the platform changes in a way that's significant (like 2GB of RAM, 32GB storage baseline, touch ID).

Maybe they plan to replace the Macbook Air with the iPad Air down the road and a more robust iPad could exists at a higher price point?

 

[Ryox]

Highly unlikely. Last year Apple wanted to push all their current generation iOS products to promote uptake of the lightning connector at the same time.

This time, I don't see any reason for them to update anything until next Sep/Oct.

 

[comatose81]

What if, what if, what if. By this logic, you'll be waiting 50 years to buy an iPad. The next one will always be better.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

At some point, but years away, tablets will replace laptops. But tablets are no where near mature for that to occur yet. But the morphing between the two that is just now starting will continue until it reaches that point.

As for another Air update... doubt it. The only reason Apple launched two iPads in 2012 was to reset the iPad launch period from spring to fall. Apple gains nothing by updating iPads every six months, and, in fact, it discourages people from upgrading every year if they know there will always be a new model 6 months down the road. Now whether we'll see an entirely new iPad model, the so-called iPad Pro, who knows.

 

[scaredpoet]

I didn't really care about the 1GB of RAM until I got the Air and it just feels wrong with the amount of crashing.

This is fixable in software, and likely will be fixed with an update.

And while I think the iPhone 5s AND iPad Air are transitional devices, they're more so for the software than the hardware. I think we're going to have a full 12 month cycle on the iPad Air, while iOS will probably see more updates than usual to get 64-bit mobile computing down right.