With the arrival of the first iPad, a whopping twelve years ago (the first generation was presented on January 27, 2010, just one day after my birthday, something that I clearly interpreted as a sign), Apple kicked off a market, that of tablets, which at that time was a great unknown. Would it be a success or a failure? Now it may seem that the answer was obvious, but then no, there were no certainties either way.
Shortly after its arrival on the market, it began to be clear that the movement had been a success, other manufacturers launched into this market and interest in tablets of different sizes began to emerge. Something that was picked up by other manufacturers but not by Apple, still led by Steve Jobs, which He even stated that Apple would never bring to market an iPad of a different size than the original model. And so it was… until his death, as the iconic manager passed away in October 2011, and Apple introduced its successful iPad Mini a year later, in October 2012.
Since then, Apple has been much more flexible when it comes to the size of the iPad, even more so since the arrival of the iPad Pro line, with sizes unimaginable in its catalog a few years before. Today, in the models for sale in the Apple store, these are the sizes of the various versions:
ipad mini: 8.3 inches.
iPad: 10.2 inches.
iPad Air: 10.9 inches.
iPadPro: 11 and 12.9 inches.
Let us remember that the first model, the one presented in 2010, it had a 9 inch screenwhich at the time seemed huge, but today is closer to the size offered by the Mini model than its own series.
And this makes a lot of sense, not only because of the evolution of technology, also due to the growing volume of uses of tabletsa field in which Apple has been an essential player, but which has also been very, very influenced, by the efforts of other manufacturers, such as Samsung and Lenovo, to give just a couple of examples.
Thus, for some time now rumors have been circulating that pointed to the possibility of Apple taking a further step in this direction, with a hypothetical large iPad, an idea that until now showed lights and shadows, but that after the presentation of iPadOS 16 last Monday, makes a lot more sense.
Confirmed the 14.1″ iPad Pro is being developed with our supply chain sources. It will have MiniLEDs and ProMotion. Not sure of the timing, but early 2023 may be more likely.
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) June 9, 2022
Thus, and according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), in a tweet, Apple would already be preparing a 14-inch iPad Pro that would hit the market in early-mid 2023, possibly in April. A jump with which those from Cupertino would cut distances, in terms of size, with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which offers a huge 14.6 screen. The hypothetical 14-inch iPad Pro could have a mini LED panel and, according to Young, with Apple’s Pro Motion screen technology.
And why now? Very easy, for the jump made by ipadOS in terms of multitasking or, to be more exact, with the display of multiple windows simultaneously. With strict limitations in this regard, a larger screen would have its uses, of course, but it is with this breakthrough that offering a larger tablet makes all the sense in the world.
