New iPads Might Not Launch Until Sometime in the Second Half of 2017

[JeffyTheQuik]

Doesn't the current 9.7in iPad already have an A9X in it, so just down name it, like:

iPad Pro Entry Level Air 1 - 9.7in, A9X
iPad Pro Professional Level Air 1 - 10.7in, A10X
iPad Pro Professional Level Air Big Mama Air 2 - 12.9in, A10X

Sorry, spent some time in Redmond today...

 

[Greenmeenie]

The big question for me is if Apple plans to finally release an iPad mini Pro. I currently use an iPad mini 3 and love the size. But it's showing its age. Also, as an artist, I really want to be able to use the apple pencil for sketching. If Apple doesn't announce a pro version of the mini with pencil support, I'll have to buy one of the new 9.7", 10.5" or 12.9" pros.
[doublepost=1484862383][/doublepost]The two main things that differentiate the iPad pros from the airs & mini is the "smart connector" for the smart keyboard and the ability to use the Apple pencil. These are arguably features that really should be available on all ipads. But I guess Apple had to do this in order to get people to upgrade. Eventually tho, apple will have to pass on those abilities to the lower priced ipads. So what then will warrant the premium price for the iPad pro? Faster & more memory? Hmm. I dunno. I think Apple should keep it simple. Get rid of the "pro" moniker altogether, and just call them the iPad mini, the iPad and the iPad Max. The iPad line up is just getting too confused. Like the current apple laptops. I mean the macbook Airs are thicker than the MacBooks now! Even the MacBook pros are just as thin. The MacBook Air, like the iPad air just seem poorly named and lost and out of place. It's just weird and unfocused to me. Very un-Apple like in my opinion. Keep it simple Apple!

 

[twocents]

I want a new smart keyboard!!!!!

One can dream, but I would be very compelled by a smart keyboard with Touch Bar support

 

[BruceEBonus]

I'll 'Pencil' that in my diary ....

 

[Abazigal]

Do we really need new iPads? Certainly not like we need new Macs!

The iPad is only six years old, compared to the PC which is over 20 years old. This makes the iPad a much less mature category than the PC, and so it would be in far more need of frequent updates.

At any rate, because of its mobile form factor, I see the potential for way more features to come to the iPad than to the Mac.

 

[nzcatfood]

For your needs. People keep forgetting that part when describing the pro products Apple is making. It's truly a pro device for many users. Just not you. Or me.

In actual fact, the pencil is just another input category like text or voice and its implementation certainly doesn't make any device a "pro" one per se. A device marketed and priced at more than the average Joe consumer should have enhanced functional capabilities that a "pro" (or a power user) might actually want to use and obviously the one functional capability that would turn an iPad into a laptop replacement and a "pro" device would be a rudimentary file system. The current iPad Pro is really still the same consumption device as all other iPads, just one with a graphical input. There is a desire for that capability in a tablet and Apple left that niche on the table for Microsoft which has enabled them to stay in the game. It was a crazy strategic move on their part.

 

[Daws001]

Honestly I don't have a reason to replace the 12.9 iPad Pro. Still buttery smooth.

I guess if the next one has laser beams I'll get it.

 

[robeddie]

A 2 year upgrade cycle for the 12.9" iPad Pro... I guess they really are Macs in Apples view

This also means that we are unlikely to see a new Apple Pencil in Q1, as the 9.7" model looks to be more of an iPad Air 3.

Good lord, if all macs were on a two year cycle, that would be awesome. Right now they seem to be on the 2 to 5 year cycle, depending on the model.

 

[walnuts]

For your needs. People keep forgetting that part when describing the pro products Apple is making. It's truly a pro device for many users. Just not you. Or me.

For the iPads Pro (not pro laptops, for example, which are trying to serve a broader base) I think its about having a "pro" toolbox. No one claims that a professional grade saw isn't truly "pro" because it can't serve as a hammer. Likewise, the iPad Pro serves to compliment, rather than replace, a work computer or laptop.

For me, I use the 9.7 inch pro daily for professional...I take all my notes with the Apple Pencil in OneNote, I markup PDFs frequently, and occasionally write memos/emails on the go. It's really great for that and extends (rather than replaces) my work computer.

I could only imagine how this applies to someone who draws for a living.

 

[apolloa]

I still don't believe, but am equally enticed to know, just what a price friendly iPad will be like?

 

[redscull]

hopefully they will remove that nasty camera bump in the back

I know it's a small thing, but removing that bump trumps just about every other feature for me. It's that undesirable. I am incredibly eager to replace my Air 1 this year with one of these new models, but it won't happen if they all have camera bumps. Just won't. Such a tacky design. Right behind that is chamfered edges. I personally think those looks really nice, but I'm tired of the pain they cause digging into my skin. Actual pain. Blacksmiths figured out thousands of years ago that the part of the sword you hold shouldn't be sharp; I wish Jony Ive knew this.

 

[Wando64]

Oh, please, enough already of the "Air 3", "Air 4" comments.
It will be a new iPad and it's specs are going to be incremental to the specs of the previous one.
Whether it is called "Air", "Pro" or "Peter" is completely irrelevant.

 

[macTW]

In actual fact, the pencil is just another input category like text or voice and its implementation certainly doesn't make any device a "pro" one per se. A device marketed and priced at more than the average Joe consumer should have enhanced functional capabilities that a "pro" (or a power user) might actually want to use and obviously the one functional capability that would turn an iPad into a laptop replacement and a "pro" device would be a rudimentary file system. The current iPad Pro is really still the same consumption device as all other iPads, just one with a graphical input. There is a desire for that capability in a tablet and Apple left that niche on the table for Microsoft which has enabled them to stay in the game. It was a crazy strategic move on their part.

It's an enhanced version of input no tech company has yet, which does make it unique and not widely used but at the same time necessary for some jobs, the number of which is growing. To declare a blanket statement about a product is incredibly false, which was my point. Many people use iPad pros for professional use. Just because you don't and the complainers here don't doesn't mean it isn't used. iOS is limited the apps available for professional use. Microsoft is limited by a poorly designed touch interface and tablet. Different limitations but it's 100% wrong to declare your opinion as fact.

 

[SeattleMoose]

Future news - iDevices can now be used as razors with innovative bloody emojis appearing if blood is detected.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Apple's new line of iPad models might not launch "until the second half of 2017," according to sources in the upstream supply chain speaking with DigiTimes. The new 9.7-inch iPad is predicted to enter mass production sometime in Q1 2017, while the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad models will begin production in Q2 of this year. All of the new iPads are described as still being in the "planning" phase.

Although it was expected for Apple to announce and launch the new iPads during the Spring, the new report claims that "these tablets may not be announced or even released" until sometime in the second half of 2017. In December, "lower-than-expected" yield rates for the 10-nanometer manufacturing process was rumored to be a potential factor in a delayed launch for the new iPads.

In DigiTimes' report, the sources mentioned a 10.5-inch iPad, which is a size that was recently well-explained by Studio Neat designer Dan Provost as a logical choice for the middle-tier iPad. While multiple rumors placed the new iPad -- believed to be an iPad Pro -- somewhere in the 10-inch range, everything from a 10.1-inch to a 10.9-inch model has been reported.

According to the supply chain sources, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro is a contender to replace the price tier of the existing 9.7-inch iPad Pro, while the new 9.7-inch version will be introduced at an even lower cost to become an entry-level device, "mainly targeting the education sector."

As previously reported, DigiTimes' sources today reiterated that the higher-end 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models will include an A10X processor. No mention was made of the 9.7-inch model and its processor, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last year predicted that the "low-cost" iPad would likely adopt a lower-end A9X processor.

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro is being positioned as a flagship model of the iPad line, believed to feature an edge-to-edge display without a home button, but retain a small portion of the top bezel in order to provide space for the front-facing FaceTime camera.

Article Link: New iPads Might Not Launch Until Sometime in the Second Half of 2017

But this begs the question: WHERE THE **** IS THE iPAD MINI!?

 

[oldmacs]

Its 4X the amount of RAM in the iPad 2 you're using. You obviously aren't pushing iPads to their limits. The logic just isn't there.

My logic is perfectly clear. I am pushing my iPad 2 well beyond it's limit. Had I bought old specs (say the iPad 1) in 2011, I would not have got the longevity that I've gotten with my iPad, so why would I buy old specs in 2017, when I know it will not give me the longevity I want.
[doublepost=1484870430][/doublepost]

Or you could just get any one of the new iPads now and it will be still be light years ahead. Clearly you aren't concerned with speed/the latest and greatest. Why not get an Air 2 or 9.7 pro that will last you another 6 years?

An Air 2 is not going to last 6 years. It is already 2.5 years old. There is no way In the world I'd be paying for the 9.7 inch Pro now as it is under-specced for the price. I'm waiting for the new one so I can get the longest time possible out of my next iPad, that is simple logic. I'm staying away from anything that has 2GB of ram, because as I have already explained, it is good now, but I don;'t see it being good in 5 years.

 

[ios_forever]

Oh, please, enough already of the "Air 3", "Air 4" comments.
It will be a new iPad and it's specs are going to be incremental to the specs of the previous one.
Whether it is called "Air", "Pro" or "Peter" is completely irrelevant.

Unfortunately it looks like you're right. I just wish Apple would modify the OS for iPad so we could have something in between the MacBook and the iPhone. If they did that I'd be first in line.

 

[Yojimbo007]

It'd be nice if the reason for the delay was because Apple decided to make an iOS exclusively for the iPad and they decided to add additional features to it to better support productivity. That won't happen though, the iPad would sell too well then, and we wouldn't want that to happen.

Or better yet... If Apple decides to release an IOS-PRO upgrade for a Fee.. which will incorporate a core/native user manageable file sys and allow for full fledged Application not snippets. ...
apple will get an additional revenue source... those who feel handicaped now will be happy... it will be win win for all.

The Pro moniker will be justified... productivity on ipad will skyrocket and 'post pc' will finally be here.

 

[Danilo - Italy]

It seems a fact that the refresh time of iPad is now about 18 months.

 

[profets]

Somewhat strange if they're really getting delayed to the fall after all the rumors of them getting an update in March (with what one could reasonably guess would be iPad specific iOS updates with 10.3).

My thoughts if there really is new 9.7, 10.5 and 12.9 (at some point this year):

iPad 7.9" 2048x1536
iPad 9.7" 2048x1536

iPad 10.5" 2732x2048
iPad 12.9" 2732x2048

With maybe the ones with higher resolution being called 'Pro' (ugh) and capable of nicer multitasking with the additional screen real estate?

I still don't believe, but am equally enticed to know, just what a price friendly iPad will be like?

My guess is that it means the newest 9.7" iPad will go back to the $499 USD starting price.

 

[Nismo73]

Tim Cook says they have exciting products in the pipeline though so I'm not at all concerned.

Funny - I was just about to write the same thing, but you always have to say that line in his voice.
I get excited every year, but by the end I'm thinking..."that was it?!" I'm hoping for a couple rabbits out of the hat this year though...maaaaybe.

 

[Wiesenlooser]

they have to launch SOMETHING in the first half of the year

 

[AdonisSMU]

I want a new smart keyboard!!!!!

In different colors and styles like those watch bands.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Must EVERYTHING be released in the fall.

I hate this about Apple. I wish they spread out their product releases. I bet they are trying to save a nickel by dumping everything at the end of the year. I wish they wouldnt do that. Apple should be releasing products when they are ready.

 

[Williesleg]

Time to fire The Cook.

Can't even **** out a new iPad? WTF? Hope he's enjoying his $100+ million stock bonus.