Apple Developing 12.9-Inch iPad – Report
Korea Times’ Kim Yoo-chul reports that according to unnamed sources, Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch iPad early next year to compete with rivals Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics that have continued to release bigger tablets, and in an effort to meet growing demand for bigger displays on smart devices as the slowdown in conventional PCs continues.
Yoo-chul says Apple’s first-tier Korean display supplier is now producing its plant in Korea a 12.9-inch Retina Display to be used in the new iPad, which will be announced sometime early next year, according to an official at the Korean Apple OEM.
The official also told him that Apple is increasingly interested in introducing bigger iPads, acknowledging that tablets will replace PCs in an era of convergence.
The report adds that the 12.9-inch iPad will have improved picture quality, since the panel supplier intends to boost its lineup for displays that have almost ultra high-definition (UHD) quality, the affirming that the bigger iPad (iPad Maxi? – CM.) will provide screen image quality similar to that of UHD.
Yo-Chul cites officials at the Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA) saying Samsung Display, a unit of Samsung Electronics, is developing OLED displays sized over 10 inches and 13 inches to be used in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy-branded tablets next year, and that by diversifying its tablet lineup, and an official at Samsung commenting that the Korean company plans to significantly narrow Apple’s dominance in tablet computers, confident that it can dethrone Apple in tablets as it did in smartphones.
He notes that according to market research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung sold 10 million tablets during the July-September period, helping it grab a 20.2-percent market share. For the first nine months of this year, Samsung sold 28 million tablets.
During the latest quarter, Apple’s share in tablets was 27.1 percent, marking the first time that Samsung had narrowed the difference in share with Apple to within a single-digit, according to the Samsung official.
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