Skip to main content

Apple reportedly prepping two 12.9-inch iPads for 2014 launch

For many months now, a number of sites and news outlets, the Wall Street Journal among them, have been reporting that Apple is in the midst of prepping a large-size tablet, possibly of 12.9 inches.

Now we have Chinese website PadNews (via Apple Insider) suggesting the tech giant is testing five different 12.9-inch tablet models, with the company looking to launch two versions next year.

Recommended Videos

Reportedly to be built by Apple’s main manufacturing partner Foxconn, which has many factories in China already churning out iDevices, the first iPad ‘Biggie’ – that’s our name not theirs – would hit the market with a 2K display, with a 4K model arriving a few months after.

PadNews’ sources say the first version of what would be the tech giant’s biggest tablet to date could start selling as early April, with the second one landing in October. However, if Apple did decide to launch a 2K iPad first, you’d think many interested consumers would simply decide to wait for the superior model a few months later, especially if more stories surface between now and then suggesting this double launch is the route Apple has decided to take.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time the company released two slates within months of each other. Many of you will recall that Apple launched two different iPads (v. 3 and 4) last year just eight months apart, though they both came with the same high-res Retina display.

Multiple reports

As for the Biggie, the increasing number of reports suggesting its existence make it hard to ignore the idea that Apple is looking to launch an iPad so large you could use it as a tray, or possibly a sled if you’re feeling particularly reckless.

In July, for example, the Wall Street Journal reported that officials working for Apple suppliers in Asia had said the Cupertino company had asked for displays “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally”.

Additionally, a leading Taiwanese newspaper suggested in September Apple is developing a large slate, though the report claimed Taiwan-based Quanta Computer, not Foxconn, was set to produce it.

And just last month the Korea Times, citing a source in the supply chain, reported that a large-size iPad would likely launch early next year.

It wasn’t so long ago that Apple turned its nose up at the idea of producing alternative sizes to its popular 9.7-inch slate, with late CEO Steve Jobs once famously saying that a smaller tablet, for example, would have to be sold with sandpaper so that users could file their fingertips down to size to enable them to touch the on-screen buttons. 

The popularity of small-size tablets from rival firms, however, persuaded it – under the leadership of Tim Cook – to launch the iPad Mini, with the company apparently once again looking to further increase its array of tablet offerings.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
My main computer is an M4 iPad Pro, but a 2021 iPad still surprises me
Rear shell of 2021 iPad Pro.

This might sound controversially ridiculous, but for the past few years, my primary computer has been an iPad Pro. I first got interested in pushing tablets this way when the M1 version came out, and I’ve kept using them all the way up to the newest M4-powered model. 

A few weeks ago, I went back to my M1 iPad Pro to see how well it handles next-gen apps that are pushing the boundaries of graphics and AI on a mobile device. So, the big question is whether the four-year-old slate can still serve as a reliable workhorse in 2025?

Read more
The $999 iPad Pro M4 is discounted by $100 at select stores today
Writing in Arabic script using the ESR Geo Digital Pencil on the M4 iPad Pro.

If you want one of the best tablets, it is only natural to gravitate towards the iPad Pro line. It is the top of the iPad line, and we compare the iPad Pro M4 and Microsoft Surface Pro side by side. These are intense products. And right now you can get the 11-inch version of the iPad Pro M4 for just $899. That's $100 off its usual $999 price. Tap the appropriate button below to jump to this deal at the retailer of your choice or keep reading to see why we like it so much.

BUY AT AMAZON

Read more
You could be folding your iPad as soon as next year
A person holding the 13-inch iPad Air (2025).

The iPad Fold, as it's being touted, could arrive as soon as next year.

A new report suggests that the first folding iPad could be on track to land in 2026.

Read more