Mass Production of 12.9-inch iPad Pro Said to Start in Q2, 2015

Ipad air 2

Rumours about the 12.9-inch iPad Pro have been consistent for a while now, but little is known about the device. Well-connected and reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on KGI securities is here to shed some light on the matter (via MacRumors).

Kuo’s sources whispered that the bigger screen iPad aimed at professional users may not enter mass production until the second quarter of next year, confirming earlier report from Bloomberg about Apple postponing the iPad Pro release to next year.

The device, which is currently under development, will use oxide panel to “achieve a high resolution, quick response and high color saturation” Kuo wrote in a note to investors.

You may recall, that Apple was rumoured to be using the A8X chip to power the iPad Pro, but instead we are seeing the custom designed SoC in the iPad Air 2, with a better than initially thought performance, as the guys at Anandtech say.

We believe that, in a major shift, while Apple (US) used to be able to use new form factor designs to boost demand, it has failed to do so this time around. The lighter and thinner iPad Air 2 will face strong headwinds in increasing sales in 1Q15, we believe; we also hold that this means that iPad, along with the entire tablet market, is faced with structural challenges characterized by a lack of new applications and market saturation. We don’t think these challenges will be easily overcome by upgraded specs, new form factor designs or lower prices.

The iPad Pro comes at a time when tablet sales are falling compared to the same period a year ago. As for the holiday quarter, Kuo predicts an even steeper, 54.5% drop to only 9.8 million iPad units, citing a lack of new applications and a (possible) saturation of the tablet market.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.