Rumor has it that Apple is currently working on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro and will reportedly release the tablet in early 2014.
Ever since the original iPad debuted there have been rumors of both smaller and larger iPads in Apple's pipeline. The company already proved it can do with its line of iPod mp3 players. It offered customers three choices: the original iPod (which is now the iPod Classic), the thin, light, and stylish iPod nano, and the affordable iPod Shuffle. We're also beginning to see Apple bring some of its popular MacBook laptop branding to its tablet line.
While Apple wasn't able to keep images of the iPad Air from leaking, it certainly kept its name under and lock and key. It wasn't until Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, announced that the fifth-generation iPad would be called the iPad Air that rumors of an iPad Pro began to intensify. The iPad Air would be the thin and light iPad, just like the MacBook Air, while the iPad Pro would be used for more intense programs and have more power, like the MacBook Pro.
The Korea Times is now reporting that Apple plans on introducing a 12.9-inch iPad early next year in order to compete with Samsung and LG. The sources claim that Apple has watched both companies release larger tablets than its 9.7-inch iPad and has one of its suppliers producing a 12.9-inch Retina display that will be used in the iPad Pro, which will be released in early 2014. An official told the publication that Apple has grown increasingly interested in developing a larger display iPad since tablets are expected to overtake PCs.
The 12.9-inch iPad will have improved picture quality and Apple "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," said the official.
Samsung is already close to releasing its 12.2-inch Galaxy Note, which also has a very high-resolution display, and the company has vowed to focus on its tablets in 2014 in order to overtake Apple in the tablet space the same way it did with smartphones.
As with all rumors of unannounced devices, take this report with a grain of salt.
