What's Happening With Apple's Even Larger iPad Models?

[Basic75]

This means that the largest iPads are still smaller than the smallest MacBooks, the M1MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro, which feature 13.3-inch displays.

The 12.9 inch iPad Pro has a display with a larger surface area than the 13.3 inch MacBook Air M1. Aspect ratio matters.

 

[PowerButton]

16” for an iPad seems a little big to me, but who knows, it might be nice; not very portable though… 🤔

 

[usmaak]

I needed a new iPad to replace my aging 2nd gen 12.9” pro and was holding out for the rumored 14”. At some point, I decided that the 12.9” was actually just the right size for me and I picked up a 1TB 12.9” M2 Pro. After seeing how much that cost, I can only imagine what a 14” iPad with the same configuration would cost.

 

[Realityck]

Samsung showed there was a market for bigger tablets, but the trouble with Apple is they’ll try to turn that into a 1500 to 1700 plus market, so it will fail. 15” iPad would be cool though.

Yes there is a marketplace for even bigger tablets, but becomes more specialized on how they would be used such as specific use like a touch interface for commercial or business database/accounting system, or used in creative authoring setup. Likely with some stand as some here now are utilizing with the largest 12.9” iPad Pro.

 

[Chris Laarman]

You mean a pivot for the iPad stand. Yeah, that would be great for users who want to type documents in portrait mode. But one has to wonder how many people would use that and if the set up would look a bit ugly.

Pivot stands have been available for years from Chinese websites. I have used some. However, the cover ones among those are too weak for large iPads (or the large iPads are too heavy for these "360°" stands, and make them "implode".)
Several stands and holders for photo cameras are also available in smartphone or tablet versions. Again, don't expect these to hold a large iPad in position. It's too much for the ball joint...

 

[I WAS the one]

My hunch is that this 16inch touch MacBook Pro is actually a 16inch iPad that runs iPad is when undocked and macOS when docked.

That's what it is, my friend. Your post will be revisited from time to time after the announcement. I don't know why, but I really see your comment fulfilled. The next device will run both, and it will be expensive as hell.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I agree with what many have already written here… that the recent rumor of “touch screen” macs and this rumor of a larger 14” iPad are connected. If Apple ever plans to provide Mac OS & iPad iOS on one device, this surely is the way to go. A larger iPad that can be “docked” into a keyboard and this function as both a macbook & ipad. To me that is the most Apple way of doing it. But who knows. 🤷‍♂️ Guess we’ll find out.

 

[1557750]

I’m looking forward to seeing you post your paintings on your walls done while watching cat videos. It will be an iPhone moment all over again! 😃

Haha! I appreciate you. 👊😎👍

 

[moons_mooniverse]

I think Hartley Charlton is one of the most creative people on the MR Team. He shares always great ideas & topics 👍

 

[riverfreak]

Love the 12.9" Pro. But I'm seriously skeptical of sizes beyond this. I think they would be unwieldy unless used mostly mounted on a stand like some users have shown.

At any rate, not upgrading until they move the camera to landscape AND my current 12.9 totally fails.

 

[_Spinn_]

I’m thinking that plans have been put on hold. This year feels like it is going to be a dud thanks the AR/VR goggles. Apple also seems to be bracing for a big economic downturn.

 

[svish]

Don't think an iPad larger than 13" will be released at least till 2025. Expecting to see 11.1" and 13" iPad Pro in 2024.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I am still skeptical of getting an iPad bigger than 12.9", mostly because of the fact even at the 12.9" size it's a bit unwieldy to hold (I've held the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8 Ultra and I wouldn't recommend it for one-handed holding).

 

[Mr. Dee]

I suspect this is gonna be just a next generation MacBook Pro with touch built in with an optimized macOS.

 

[macduke]

I would love it if they could bump the 12.9" up to 13.3" and then the 11" could go up to 11.5" or something. Maybe trim the bezels slightly while increasing the size a little. I think in that case I would move from the 12.9" I currently have down to the 11.5", especially once it has OLED. Now that you can do display scaling on iPads to make the UI smaller instead of just larger, that will also help. Previously the 11" felt a little cramped for me but I think with display scaling it would be fine, especially if they increase the screen size a little more. The OLEDs will probably lead to a small increase in resolution as well like it did with the iPhone, so that scaling might well be native by then.

So I'm thinking in the future I'll move from 16" MBP i9 to 14" MBP M3 Max or M4 Max (depending on when they get OLED), and 12.9" iPad Pro M1 to (hopefully) 11.5" iPad Pro M4. Then my devices will be more portable. Think I'll wait until M4 because I don't need to upgrade my iPad that often. Although if I get the MBP with the M4, then I might wait another year so I'm not upgrading at the same time. I'm hoping by then that RAM will be decoupled from SSD size on the iPad Pro, as I like having a lot of RAM but don't need a ton of storage on my iPad, but I doubt that will happen. For now I'm just glad to have the option at all.

 

[iPadified]

Very confusing article. There is no blurred line between iPads and Macs and screen size has nothing to do with it. I can think of many ways that a desktop 24 inch iPad makes sense such as drawing and music creation and it would not be held vertically like an ordinary screen. Dual boot makes sense but in that case, make iPhones dual boot as well. That would kill the lower end Macs.

 

[Digitalguy]

The thing is, larger screens mean bigger batteries are required and so the whole device gets heavier. I already find the 12.9” to be on the heavy and unwieldy side.

Not necessarily, the M1 pro is heavier because of Miniled, the LCD 12.9 feels more comfortable. And and OLED one would be even lighter.

 

[aknabi]

Meh, I'm holding out for a 27" iPad.

Nah, 32" iPad Pro

 

[Digitalguy]

My fingers are crossed that Apple releases a new 16” iPad this year. I will instantly purchase one right away. I hope Apple doesn’t make us wait till next year.

I think we'll have to wait, maybe even more than 2 years. I just hope that if it's 16" they'll go all in with a pro, I don't care about price

 

[Digitalguy]

1) Me, I wouldn't consider buying a larger tablet than my current 12.9" iPads. It would become uncomfortable to hold it in a desired position for more than mere seconds, and it would become too heavy for stands when in portrait orientation (my default). YMMV. 🙂

2) Ten(?) years ago, there was this huge (19"?) Android tablet by HP or Samsung. Full HD resolution, which was already on the coarse side in that time. Must have been a big (2*) mistake.

3) Whom would a larger (than existing) tablet target? Media consumers would be better served by a separate monitor (or television), and so would drawing artists. (I have always preferred the smallest Wacom tablets in my Windows-only days, in order to have my hand rest comfortably.)
The one group I could imagine is one that I seem the only person to target is: directors of major outdoor engineering jobs, like upgrading railways, Chinese or just European scale. But then, imagine using large tablets at freezing temperatures or in strong winds...

1) As a Surface Book 15 owner I can tell you that that things feels extremely light and just as comfortable as the M1 iPad pro and it stays perfectly well in stands. If Apple can make something similar it will be amazing...

2) I tried that things and it's garbage, extremely heavy and bulky. Not something Apple would do, not even close.

3) Musicians for sheet music, people who want to annotate Word and PDF documents (on a stand or against something), people who want to watch something around the house (not a fixed monitor and again see my point 1 about the SB 15") and have stands in every room like I do...

There is definitely an audience for such a device and I believe it's larger than some people think

 

[sherwinzadeh]

If true, then I think Apple will soon discontinue the 11" iPad Pro and the 10.9" Air may just be the product left at this size. Makes even more sense with the new 10th gen iPad. There's just too many products at that original iPad size. So it makes sense that iPad Pros would be focused on larger sizes.

 

[Flabasha]

I would not see the point of a 16-inch iPad crippled by iPadOS. A 16-inch Macbook Pro with a detachable keyboard would make way more sense.

I left the 12.9 iPad Pro world because of iPadOS... I'm typing on my 15" Galaxy Tab Ultra. Granted, it's Android, which is superior to iPadOS, but it's still just a phone operating system, and the size is GLORIOUS. Now, I use it for art and watching movies, and for those two purposes, this size is like heaven. Point is, if iPadOS got even a little bit better, a huge iPad would be awesome. I'm not in the market anymore, but after using this size, I've wondered when Apple would make a model with similar dimensions. I do think they'd sell a ton.

Go to Best Buy and play with the Tab Ultra, you may be shocked how great that size is, even with just a tablet OS.

 

[Flabasha]

1) Me, I wouldn't consider buying a larger tablet than my current 12.9" iPads. It would become uncomfortable to hold it in a desired position for more than mere seconds, and it would become too heavy for stands when in portrait orientation (my default). YMMV. 🙂

2) Ten(?) years ago, there was this huge (19"?) Android tablet by HP or Samsung. Full HD resolution, which was already on the coarse side in that time. Must have been a big (2*) mistake.

3) Whom would a larger (than existing) tablet target? Media consumers would be better served by a separate monitor (or television), and so would drawing artists. (I have always preferred the smallest Wacom tablets in my Windows-only days, in order to have my hand rest comfortably.)
The one group I could imagine is one that I seem the only person to target is: directors of major outdoor engineering jobs, like upgrading railways, Chinese or just European scale. But then, imagine using large tablets at freezing

 

[Appaljack]

Might they be foldable or even rollable ??

Can't see how you'd manage with say a 17 inch iPad !?

No and No.

And I had a16.3” windows which was way to bulky so I agree in principle as a portable, but I want the bigger iPad than the current 12.9”. I want one that you can place a piece of paper on it and do art. So a 15” sounds perfect, 16” starts getting bulky. I love my 15” Macbook Pro so I will wait for the 15” iPad Pro size with M2 chip and a matching Macbook Pro of same size as my current or bigger. 13” is just too small and I want my iPad to match. So not buying till I see changes. 2022 was a total bust, most ‘s’ upgrades on all devices. 2023 looking to be the same. My iPhone 12 P Max should be good till iPhone 15 or later.

 

[Appaljack]

I left the 12.9 iPad Pro world because of iPadOS... I'm typing on my 15" Galaxy Tab Ultra. Granted, it's Android, which is superior to iPadOS, but it's still just a phone operating system, and the size is GLORIOUS. Now, I use it for art and watching movies, and for those two purposes, this size is like heaven. Point is, if iPadOS got even a little bit better, a huge iPad would be awesome. I'm not in the market anymore, but after using this size, I've wondered when Apple would make a model with similar dimensions. I do think they'd sell a ton

Go ahead and stay with your ‘greeenie’ messages and non-integrated ‘Android’ and I’ll stick with old Blue…