So with the launch of the Retina iPad Mini 2 and the iPad Air now well and truly out of the way, the big question on the lips of many an analyst is…what’s next for Apple’s iconic and market-defining tablet PC?
Technically speaking it can’t get a great deal lighter, brighter or much more impressive in its current guise…or guises…so what’s on the cards for next year’s iPad 6?
Apparently, the only way is up…and indeed out, for that matter.
Purists with a taste for the good-old days Apple would probably shudder at the thought of a 12-inch iPad and positively cringe at the notion of an iPad-Notebook hybrid. Sadly for those of such a persuasion however, it’s looking increasingly plausible that this is exactly the way Apple intends to head with the iPad 6.
Right off the bat, PC and laptop sales the world over are plummeting by the day and forcing computer makers from all corners to seek out new ideas and new pastures to remain ahead. PC makers are trying their hands at tablet PCs and Smartphones, while Smartphone giants are branching out into Phablets, tablets, Smartwatches and so much more besides.
For Apple, an iPad 6 that effectively serves as a large sized tablet PC and docking station combo pack technically makes pretty good sense. And with just 14% or so of Apple’s revenues known to be driven by iMac sales, chances are an iPad-Notebook hybrid of even niche interest wouldn’t have trouble playing an important role for the brand.
In addition, Apple’s move to 64-bit CPU technology for its iPad range has been interpreted by some as a nod in favor of the corporate community, to whom the iPad 6 hybrid would primarily be marketed. Still the world’s favorite in an everyday consume sense, the iPad 6 could prove to be Cook’s game-changer for winning over a more business-oriented crowd.
And just to round things off, it’s worth remembering that rumors have been spewing from the mill all year regarding Apple’s apparent interest in larger screens for both its iPad and iPhone range. Specific mention was given to a 12-inch panel quite some time ago, which in the form of a standard iPad would be ludicrously big, but as a hybrid…perhaps an altogether more feasible and interesting device.
So it’s a case of pairing rumor and speculation with logic – the iPad may well have come as far as it can in its current guise and given the state of the world’s PC industry, big changes are inevitable throughout 2014.
Expect your first look at the iPad 6 hybrid at Apple’s WWDC 2014 next summer – it’s launch to follow shortly afterward.
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