Apple planning 12.9-inch iPad for 2015 - Bloomberg
Apple Inc is preparing to roll out a larger, 12.9-inch version of its iPad for 2015, with production set to begin in the first quarter of next year, Bloomberg cited people with knowledge of the matter as saying.
The report comes as Apple struggles with declining sales of its 10-inch and 7.9-inch tablets, which are faltering as people replace iPads less frequently than expected and larger smartphones made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other rivals encroach upon sales.
Apple has been working with its suppliers for over a year on larger touch-screen devices, Bloomberg cited the sources as saying.
It is expected to introduce larger versions of its 4-inch iPhone next month, although the company has not publicised plans for its most important device.
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
Apple's resurgent stock may have as much to do with financial engineering as the company's technological wizardry. Photo: AP
Apple, which helped create the tablet market in 2010 with its first iPad, has seen growth plummet from 2012, as larger phones became more popular and people delayed replacing their tablets.
Mass production of the iPad with a 9.7-inch (24.6-cm) screen has already started, and it is likely to be unveiled by the end of current quarter or early next quarter, Bloomberg said, citing two people familiar with the matter.
A new version of the 7.9-inch iPad mini is also entering production and is likely to be available by the end of the year, Bloomberg said.
Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on the report.
A man walks by a sign of Apple's iPad at shopping mall in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: AP
International Business Machines Corp said in July it would partner exclusively with Apple to sell iPhones and iPads, which could rejuvenate the tablet's sales by entering into a largely untapped corporate market.
Apple shipped 13.2 million iPads in the June quarter, eight percent less than a year earlier. Sales of the devices, which accounted for 15 percent of revenue, fell short of Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter in a row.
Morning news break – August 27
