Apple iPad 2017 update: Four new iPad variants to start production in December
Apple is set to change things up with the iPad. The tech giant is reportedly going to introduce a new 10.5-inch variant of its tablet PC. The new iPad’s production could also start as early as December.
Apple’s current iPad roster includes the 7.9-inch iPad mini, the 9.7-inch iPad Air, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Supply chain makers based in Taiwan disclosed via Digitimes that the new 10.5-inch iPad is aimed at enterprise and education sectors in the US. Those sectors seem to consider the current 9.7-inch iPad models as too small, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is too costly.
Apple is without a doubt revamping its iPad lineup as current models will be more than a year old by the end of 2017’s first quarter. The Cupertino-based company is expected to announce the new 10.5-inch iPad along with the trio of the recently reported new iPad variants that will equip contemporary display sizes.
Production of the new iPad units could begin as early as next month. Apple could launch its new tablet PCs as soon as January, but it will most likely announce them in a March conference.
The new 10.5-inch iPad will reportedly be powered by Apple’s own A10X chipset, which is also utilised on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The report also states that 2 million units of the new 10.5-inch iPad are set to be shipped between January and March of next year. It further added that Apple is set to launch more affordable variants of the 9.7-inch iPad in order to contend with Android tablets.
The lower-priced 9.7-inch iPad variants will most likely be the successors of the iPad Air line, according to 9To5Mac. The development of the 7.9-inch iPad Mini, however, is highly unlikely since no further updates about the device are made known.
