Apple's 12.9-inch iPad can expand the concept of “iPad”

According to rumors, Apple is working on a new large iPad, according to the Wall Street Journal, suppliers are preparing to begin production in the second half of this year. This deadline has already been postponed, since the launch was originally scheduled for the first half of the year, but due to the fact that Apple has not even admitted the existence of this device, such a change in timing does not surprise anyone. And the potential technical characteristics of the new device, on which, as the WSJ reports, Apple is working, and which can (or cannot) be realized in the final design, are surprising.

According to the message, Apple plans to enable USB 3.0 for faster data transfer between the larger iPad and computers, external drives and other devices, and is also considering adding additional USB I / O ports behind the Lightning port, which is already on the current iPhone model and iPad. It also discusses technologies that can reduce battery charging time. In this case, as reported, all these potential characteristics are only considered as possible so far, and may remain on the sidelines and not enter the final product.

At the moment, the charging time for the iPad Air from zero to a full battery charge is about four hours, if charged with the included charger. It is logical to assume that a larger device with a 12.9-inch screen will boast a more powerful battery, partly because for this it will have additional surface area, and partly because a larger screen with the same pixel density will most likely require more energy to ensure the same battery life as existing iPad models. Increasing the speed of charging the battery will help to reduce the duration of the connection to the network, necessary to fully charge the battery.

Faster I / O and additional inputs suggest that the new iPad may have a different purpose - Apple offered to equip this device for enterprise customers and professional users, and if they really plan to follow this direction, it will make sense to provide connectivity tools such devices like mouse and keyboard. USB 3.0 on this kind of device is also more important than on existing iPhones and iPads, as binding to a computer is becoming less and less important for most ordinary users of mobile devices. For users who are more business-oriented or constantly working with large files (creative workers, for example), this type of connection is more reasonable.
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Similar to the rumors about a stylus previously developed for a larger iPad, many will ignore the new proposed features, as they are completely beyond the current development trend of iPad and iOS devices. Earlier, Apple completely denied the external ports, and, in fact, according to another rumor, this time about the 12-inch MacBook Air, the company reduces the number of I / Os on this device to one, which suggests that the company has the opposite approach. to industrial aesthetics. Despite the quite good reason to be skeptical of the iPad Pro with its range of ports, their complete exclusion looks premature given the latest trends in the company's activities.

In general, the existence of a larger iPad is already a rather complicated scenario that not many will understand, given the modern set of Apple products and the niche that a 12.9-inch tablet can occupy. And Apple Watch is another example of the case when not everyone understood the value of Apple’s plans. It can be argued that today it’s quite difficult to trace Apple’s activities, since, despite the fact that decisions still look confident and, I believe, will ultimately lead to greater success, the major changes that have occurred in recent years will complicate forecasting. future steps.

In general, while the growing number of ports on the 12.9-inch iPad does not look like the “Apple move”, it can become a foundation from which new ideas will be repelled for use in creative and commercial purposes. Based on Apple’s ongoing promotion of creative iOS and Mac applications and its partnership with IBM, it can be concluded that both of these markets look more and more desirable for Silicon Valley.