There’ve been reports around for quite some time that Apple might be playing around with the idea of bringing a larger iPad to the consumers, which might end up being called the ‘iPad Pro,’ and today, Bloomberg also seems to have joined the ranks of sources that believe that the Cupertino tech giant might actually be preparing to unveil a larger, 12.9-inch iPad in the spring of 2015.
Those hoping to see some exciting new hardware revelations at WWDC were left sorely disappointed as Cook, Federighi and co. waxed poetic about the new software features of iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite. But just because nothing was unveiled at the conference's keynote, this isn't to say that some of the touted products aren't on their way, and having delved the new beta of Xcode 6, one Apple enthusiast has already spotted signs that newer, larger iPhones and iPads could be on their way.
A new iPad Pro concept cooked up by the folks of German design outfit CURVED Labs demonstrates precisely the kind of product that power users of the Apple slate would probably be seeking. Packing a sumptuous 12.9-inch 4K display of almost 300ppi, the device, which does seem a little idealistic if we're honest, manages to retain the same thinness as the iPad Air, and although we doubt that Apple could possibly stuff such a high-spec IPS panel in this kind of form factor, it's not as though Jony Ive and his hardware design team haven't pulled off similarly improbable feats in the past.
Analysts are notoriously hit and miss when it comes to their predictions at the best of times, and that goes doubly so when you throw Apple and its wall of secrecy into the mix. That doesn't stop analyst upon analyst trying to guess and double-guess what the folks in Cupertino have up their collective sleeves, and it doesn't stop us from listening to them either. Which is fine, so long as their claims come with a healthy dose of salt.
The number of larger iPad, or so-called 'iPad Pro' reports have been aplenty over the past six or so months, and a new piece over at DigiTimes, which claims that Apple is aiming to drop the 12.9-inch slab by the third quarter of this year, only serves to fuel this burning fire. Once upon a time, the blogosphere would have laughed at any notion of Apple delivering a slate so much larger than the full-sized iPad Air, but the iPad mini has shown that under Tim Cook, anything is apparently possible, and the iPad Pro will serve as the higher-end option for consumers seeking the ultimate performance.
This iPad Pro Concept Is Every Bit A Pro Tablet With A Gigantic 4K 13-inch Display, Touch ID [VIDEO]
When Apple renamed the iPad, preferring to go with the iPad Air designation, everyone came to the logical conclusion that Apple must, presumably, be working on a new iPad that it would eventually call the iPad Pro. This assumption is obviously based on the fact that Apple's MacBook lineup has both an Air and a Pro model. After all, why change the name of the iPad at all if Apple wasn't planning on introducing something alongside it?
With the iPad mini, and more recently, the iPad mini with Retina display now taking pride of place alongside the tactically rebranded iPad Air, Apple's tablet range is as diverse as it has ever been. But with many other companies going larger than the 9.7-inch diameter of the full-size device's screen, there have been numerous suggestions that Apple will come through with a model packing a 12.9-inch Retina panel. Apparently, manufacturers have been given the green light to go ahead and produce this very display for the so-called "iPad Pro," which will, according to reports, release during the first part of 2014.
No More Content


