“Rumors of both a 12-inch MacBook and iPad have surfaced in recent months. Where there is smoke with Apple rumors there is often a form of fire, and claims of the an iPad Pro have been heating up quickly,” Mark Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “We have put our stamp of approval on a 12-inch MacBook, but a 12-inch iPad (now with a stylus?) have us questioning the merits of why a product should exist.”
“Initially, the idea of a massive 12-inch iPad seemed nutty,” Reschke writes. “[But], the launch of a 12-inch iPad would be the continuation of building upon Tim Cook’s drive for a more choice-oriented Apple. With the results Apple has achieved thus far with a ‘more choice’ business model, perhaps the time is now for a 12-inch iPad Air Pro.”
Much more in the full article here.
It’s not “absurd” as long as it can be held AND use at the same time. If you need to prop it up on a table with a “kickstand” because it is too heavy or cumbersome, that is something Apple will NOT do.
I think the upper limit for iPad on “heaviness” is the original iPad. I think Apple can do a 12″ iPad now at that weight or less. With the narrow bezel along the long sides (like iPad Air), it won’t even be that much physically larger than the original iPad.
Exactly dead on about the weight & size. I was saying the same recently that Apple should be able to make it weigh less than iPad1. But iPad 1 feels damn heavy after using an Air (I have both).
Funny thing though is I actually use my Air probably 80 – 90% of the time on a book stand on my dining room table.
I want one. iPads are already the best for music. A bigger screen would make it more capable and readable for that purpose.
The stylus? I take a wait-and-see position on that. Right now, I want the bigger display.
The stylus will continue to be an optional input device. The thinking is that a larger iPad will have some software/hardware features that expand the functionality of an iPad stylus beyond what we have today.
It will be even better for music with the rumored speaker config of the Pro. I have badly wanted proper stereo speakers in landscape mode since iPad1and we may finally get this on the Pro, when (not if) it eventually appears.
A large iPad would be welcome in many circles, especially if has and extended set of features and functions, like a pressure sensitive digitizing surface, a 24-hour continuous use battery, SD card slot, etc. I think a tablet form factor would find many use cases. I hate to bring it up, but the Surface Pro is gaining traction in businesses because it can integrate with many business common business processes a bit easier than the iPad.
The only businesses where Surface is “gaining traction” are on TV shows, where Microsoft paid for product placement. 🙂
I hear differently. I love Apple and the iPad, but the reality is that it is not ideal for every task.
Surface is not “ideal” for ANY task. 😉
Its ideal for blending 🙂
No stylus. Not happening, nor should it.
I think Tim is drifting dangerously into too many choices, but I would mind having a larger iPad. I’d just be angst-ridden about which iPad to buy.
Some people need a stylus, such as artists. If you don’t, then don’t buy one. Don’t decide for the rest of us what we need.
You missed the point. First, Aplle is not going to include a stylus. It isn’t gonna happen. And second, it would be price prohibitive to include good, Wacom-level precision. So, why do it?
Freedom of choice is what you got.
Freedom from choice is what you want.
There is nothing wrong with making stylus input more useful on iPad. But Apple will not include a stylus. With Mac, users who need a stylus (because a mouse or trackpad lacks the necessary precision or dexterity) use a Wacom device. It’s fully supported, but Apple does not supply it.
Apple Watch has a pressure sensitive display. I would not be surprised if the next generation of iPads also had touchscreens that can distinguish between different levels of pressure, with a stylus or a fingertip.
I think some form of magic stylus with expanded capabilities might well make sense particularly in the business environment. Initiating menu options, precise copy and paste especially between pages or apps, marking up notes over various options, such things as a start could be useful for business especially at POS or consumer related information gathering, it might be quicker than using fingers. IBM’s apps might represent a source of use for such developments who knows. A bog standard stylus I cannot see likely however.
A larger tablet device built upon iOS would not be a bad idea, but it needs to not be so damned locked down. Let users see and manage the file system or a least have a configuration to.
Not an absurd idea, but probably a niche product. On the other hand, I have occasionally seen photos of journalists sitting at a media event—or of students sitting in classrooms—where most of the Mac users had big honking 15″ or even 17″ laptops, which are a pretty ridiculous choice for that kind of usage. So there is no accounting for taste or good sense… or lack thereof. Would I personally ever buy a big-screen tablet? Not a chance in hell.
I would buy it today, if it were available. For many reasons; not the least of them as a display for reading music.
I have seen a few young symphony orchestras use some Samsung Android tablets (looked like 12 inches) instead of standard music stands, and the screen size was sufficient enough to show a full page of music. Ideally, the screen size would have to be 14″ in order to make it fit standard sheet of US letter (and even bigger for the global A4 standard). And of course, if we were to completely supplant the physical hard copy of music, the display would need to be actually double, so that the musician can see two pages side-by-side. Obviously, such a device would have practically no real use for much else, so that won’t happen.
Still, a large-enough screen iPad will be a great device for musicians for displaying sheet music.
Excellent comment.
Or at least offer a range of displays that are as easy to mirror from an iOS device as they are to drive from a Mac. Apple’s clunky overpriced HDMI adapter cable works if you want to tether your iPad to an external display, but few people do it because it’s just not an advantage over any other laptop cable connection.
Moreover, HDMI sucks. You’d think Apple would offer a better display mirroring solution that supports superior 4K video resolution, perhaps in tandem with an updated Airport Express that supports the latest WiFi standard.
We’re waiting for you to update the rest of your product range too, Apple.
There are a number of compatible styluses out there that can be used on an iPad. Input with one depends in part on the app when it comes to text, but if the use of the stylus is same as a finger input it will work.
Bring it on.
Considering that for some absurd and idiotic reason Apple allows pinch zooming to be disabled by web sites (it simply should not be allowed by the O/S!!), my aging eyes need a larger screen when reading some of these sites with smaller fonts and that disable zooming (goddamn them to hell for that).
Seriously Apple why do you allow this ?? Its even worse on my iPhone !