The Information says that Apple is working on an even bigger iPad.
A report from The Information says that Apple may be working on an iPad with a 16-inch screen. The outlet was told by people who knew about the situation that Apple might release the device in the fourth quarter of 2023, but this could change.
There have been rumors for a while about an iPad with a 14-to 15-inch screen, but this is the first time we’ve heard of a 16-inch iPad. Mark Gurman, an Apple analyst, talked about a 14-to 15-inch iPad in 2021, and he recently said that a bigger iPad could come out in the next year or two. Ross Young, a supply chain analyst, said in June that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro with Mini LEDs and a ProMotion display could come out as soon as next year.
Adding a high-end 16-inch iPad could help Apple’s lineup make more sense.
Apple’s biggest iPad right now is the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but adding a few more inches of screen space could make it perfect for creative professionals. It would also make sense for people who want to use Stage Manager, a feature of iPadOS 16 that is meant to make switching between apps easier. On Tuesday, the company added support for external displays to Stage Manager in the iPadOS 16.2 developer beta. This should give people who use the feature a lot of space to work with.
Last month, Apple changed its iPad lineup by releasing a more expensive entry-level iPad with USB-C and an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro. But as my coworker Monica Chin points out, raising the price of the basic iPad has put it in an odd spot. The device costs almost as much as an M1 MacBook Air when you add the $249 Magic Keyboard Folio and the $99 Apple Pencil, which still doesn’t work with USB-C.
Adding a high-end 16-inch iPad could help Apple’s lineup make more sense. Even though it would probably make the price gap between the entry-level iPad and the larger high-end model bigger, it wouldn’t solve the problem of not having a cheaper option, which is probably why it’s still selling the ninth-generation device for $329.
