Apple places cautious orders for 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’; low initial supply expected for late-2015 launch

“Apple’s upstream supply chain is expected to start supplying components for the upcoming 12.9-inch iPad in late-September and the device is expected to become available in the market after mid-November,” Monica Chen and Joseph Tsai report for DigiTimes.

“However, Apple is rather cautious about placing related orders and the initial shipment volume is much lower than most market watchers’ expectations, according to sources from the upstream supply chain,” Chen and Tsai report. “The tablet will be manufactured by Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), the sources noted.”

Full article here.

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SEE ALSO:
Apple’s 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’ is on the way – July 6, 2015
iOS 9 code: Apple’s ‘iPad Pro’ to feature 2732×2048 resolution – June 16, 2015
Apple’s 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’ will feature Bluetooth smart stylus, Force Touch, NFC and more, source says – May 29, 2015

28 Comments

        1. What does “This is a well known pattern that smart businessman understand.” have anything to do with
          buying personal gifts for friends and relatives? Do you
          really think that, if the iPad Pro was available in mid
          September, you could get it cheaper than buying in
          mid December?

        2. As we know Christmas is all about business isn’t it. Sadly mind you are probably right in that regard.

          However from my point of view this is mostly a business product and consumer interest is not going to be easy to discern before hand, so a November launch is probably a good time to launch it so as to test the water with a second wave if sales warrant it in the New Year when businesses would have had the time to have considered its advantages and production can be ramped up if the demand is seen. Sounds like a masterstroke to me on such a product.

    1. Stopped using my iPad a while ago. Pretty useless. Interested in the 12″ MacBook. I can’t see such a large tablet doing very well because it’s so big.

      Apple should just make a multi-touch surface table and sell that.

      1. Spoken like a true MicroSoftie, Yoss. But you’re right about the iPad being “pretty useless”: Went out to cut some weeds from the ed of my driveway yesterday, and my iPad didn’t help one bit. Maybe if I had a Surface Pro . . . .

      1. then I say — see Toms post above
        this is a sector Apple missed out on.

        Probably wise though. So many Windows Metro devices were offered to blend the touch experience with daily computing.

        Apple having most the rights to most of the gestures for touch input – but Microsoft had brought all this to market first – once iPad had reached stardom. The consumers were confused as hell. It didn’t work. But it was a different approach than Android and Apple. OS X Pro Tablet could happen… gestures already set into OS X with the Touch pad.

        What is the reason Apple has held back on this?

      1. tricky Apple – wanting to offer other areas a better chance in-turn effected loyal customers – hope they don’t just for your sake – and i do mean that sincerely

  1. We want one NOW !!!! But we’re ok with getting one THIS QUARTER !! With the scant info coming from any of the relativly solid knowledable folks into future products, MUM’s clearly the word…BUT that certaintly doesn’t diminish our desires…..

    Holding breath…..

  2. I’m ready. I’ve told my wife that it may end up being my next laptop. Time will tell. It will certainly get a lot of use.

    Price? I predict $699 to start, but $599 would sell like hotcakes. So the “cautious orders” makes me think $699. That price point might make me wait for the maxiPad2. But I doubt it!

  3. Love my iPad, it’s my main go to computer. For typing I use my iMac/Macbook Pro. But honestly, I always have my iPad, love the hell out of it and can’t wait for the next bigger model.

  4. Dying for an iPad Pro so I can read piano sheet music off of it more easily. Don’t know about other uses, but that’s the killer size for sheet music.

  5. WTF is a “cautious order”. What Apple was doing is ordering whatever the supplier was able to ship. More like “initial orders” pending manufacturer ramp.

  6. After the iPhone and the 🍎WATCH, I’ve learned not to naysay other’s predictions, but this time I think I must sound the voice of reason. iPad Pro is an oxymoron. OS X on an iPad will not make it Pro. ARM processors are not Pro. USB C? Storage? Add a third party keyboard and your iPad Pro will weigh more than an Air, but underperform it considerably.

    I’d be happy to be wrong, but this rumor is backed up by nothing factual, so talking about it as if it’s a done deal is not keeping your stick on the ice – another hockey metaphor from the great Canadian game. Skate to where the puck is going to be, but keep your damn stick on the ice boys and girls!

    dmz

  7. I think the Pro is a bit of a chicken and egg situation, not unlike the watch in some ways. You need the product to make new developments in the OS especially useful and its not worth developing the OS into more business useful or power user areas without a bigger iPad to exploit them. This is the sort of product that will probably become more and more useful over time as the OS becomes much more competitive against a fully fledged MacOS or the two simply merge but that is some time in the future. But then you need a puck to hit there before you can move to where the puck is actually going.

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