What you need to know
- Apple is reportedly developing new, larger iPad tablets that could be in the 16-inch ballpark.
- Bloomberg's Marg Gurman goes on to say that they won't arrive next year, though.
Apple is currently developing new, larger iPads according to a new report. The new tablets would be bigger than the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro and would likely be closer to the 16-inch screen sizes users of the largest MacBook Pro are most familiar with.
This is all according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the first issue of the new Power On newsletter. Gurman says that the issues with the current iPad Pro go beyond being hamstrung by iOS — iPads need bigger screens.
Now I have even stronger feelings for what Apple Inc. needs to change about the iPad—and it goes beyond software. It's time for a giant screen, one in the 14-inch to 16-inch range. I love the speed, touchscreen, versatility and Magic Keyboard, but the 12.9-inch display is far too small for someone accustomed to a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
What's more, Apple seems to agree with this sentiment. Gurman goes on to say that Apple is working on larger tablets right now, but that they won't ship this year or even the next. It's looking like a 2023 launch, if it happens at all.
And I'm not the only one who thinks that: I'm told that Apple has engineers and designers exploring larger iPads that could hit stores a couple of years down the road at the earliest. They're unlikely for next year—with Apple's attention on a redesigned iPad Pro in the current sizes for 2022—and it's possible they never come at all. But a big iPad would be the perfect device for many people, including me, and would continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop.
The idea of a larger iPad is something we've all mulled over from time to time and it makes plenty of sense as a desk-based machine, whether that's a Mac replacement or for artwork. Imagine draping on a 16-inch screen using an Apple Pencil!
You can do that with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro right now of course, and it looks like that's as good as it's going to get for the next couple of years at least. Why not treat yourself today after checking out the best iPad Pro deals money can buy?
