Apple looks as though it could be gearing up to take a leaf out of Samsung’s book by launching devices in a slew of sizes to offer consumers greater choice as well as possibly a more confusing shopping experience
Officials working for Apple suppliers in Asia said the tech company has asked for displays “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally”, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The Journal added that it was currently unclear if the larger device would ever make it to market, adding that Apple, like any tech company with the resources, routinely tests various designs as it develops and experiments with new products.
With the current full-size iPad sporting a 9.7-inch display, a 13-inch version would certainly represent a significant leap in screen real estate. For a long time, Apple seemed intent on sticking with its 9.7-inch display for the iPad, with talk of alternative sizes rubbished by Steve Jobs. The late Apple CEO once famously said that a smaller tablet would need to be sold with sandpaper so users could file their fingertips down to size to enable them to touch the on-screen buttons.
But the market developed, and when Apple saw how popular competitors smaller-sized slates were with consumers, it couldn’t resist pushing out the 7.9-inch Mini. Tablets with displays larger than 10 inches, however, have so far failed to sell in any great number, though it could be that Apple is considering aiming such a device at the education and business markets rather than at consumers.
iPad 5
The Journal’s report added that suppliers in Asia are preparing to boost production of the next iteration of the 9.7-inch iPad, which is expected to be the same size and have the same resolution as the current version. However, as other reports in recent months have suggested, the new model, which could launch this September, is expected to be thinner and lighter than the existing version.
The changes have apparently been made possible with the use of thinner glass for the tablet’s touchscreen display as well as backlighting utilizing a single LED light bar instead of the two LED light bars used in the current iPad.
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