Oliver Haslam·

Report: 10.5-Inch And 12.9 iPad Pro Models Will Not Ship Until May Or June This Year

According to supply chain sources speaking with DigiTimes, Apple’s rumored 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro devices which are expected to debut at company’s Spring event will not ship until either May or June. However, the refreshed 9.7-inch iPad is expected to ship much closer to the rumored March event.

DigiTimes itself reported last month that both the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPads were not expected to enter production on a large scale until Q2 of 2017, whilst also noting that an entry level 9.7-inch iPad would do the same a whole quarter earlier.

This does jive well with the publication’s most recent claims, and fits well with other rumors circulating currently.

Mac Otakara also reported not so long ago that the 10.5-inch iPad may not be ready to ship en masse until some point around May. That report did however claim that the three other iPad models rumored to get their first outing at the rumored March event, the now much rumored 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPads are expected to ship in March.

Vendors have hoped that at least one of the two large-size tablets, 10.5-inch iPad or the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, will be released in the first quarter of 2017 along with the entry-level 9.7-inch iPad.

The current 12.9-inch iPad has seen its stock levels dwindle across the United States of late, further fueling rumors that a refresh of the lineup is imminent. Shipping dates for the largest iPad Pro have already stretched out to a number of weeks, with such gaps usually a very good sign that Apple and its suppliers are beginning to slow down production in order to flood the market with newer, updated hardware later.

This however may not be the case if the likes of DigiTimes are correct, with a good old fashioned stock shortage perhaps at play here. Apple has been known to hit problems producing devices in such a manner, after all.

With a raft of new iPads very much rumored for the first half of this year and as many as three or four new iPhones set to arrive this year as well, 2017 looks set to be a busy year for the company.

(Source: DigitTimes)

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