The rumored event in April should mark the inauguration of Apple’s new headquarters in California,dubbed Apple Park, DigiTimes has learned.
“The 10.5-inch iPad will target education and business sectors, and together with an upgrade 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the two models will be Apple’s mainstream products for the mid-tier to high-end tablet market in 2017,” reads the article.
Estimated to ship around one million units of the 10.5-inch device, Apple is projected to boost production to 1.2 million units a month from the second quarter. Shipment volumes for an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad model should reach 3-4 million units a month in the first quarter and “grow significantly” starting the second quarter.
The production schedule for an upgrade 12.9-inch iPad Pro model was unclear at post time, thought the sources think the device will enter volume production in May or June.
DigiTimessaidearlier that the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model won’t start shipping before May or June, while KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuosaid2017 iPads won’t arrive before the second half of 2017.
Kuodetailedthree new iPad models that he thought might be on the horizon: a second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a low cost 9.7-inch model and a 10.5-inch high-end model said tohavethe same resolution as the 12.9-inch model, which files as Apple’s highest-resolution iOS device.
The iPhone maker is currently testing unreleased iPad models in Cupertino and around the greater San Francisco Bay area. The devices are running a mix of the latest beta of iOS 10.3 and an unreleased build of iOS 11,accordingto Fiksu logs.
A radically overhauled iPad with an AMOLED screen isexpected in 2018.
Japanese blog Mac Otakarapredictedthat in addition to new iPads, Apple’s upcoming product event will also result in some spring-themed Apple Watch bands, a 128-gigabyte edition of iPhone SE and iPhone 7 in anew Red color option.
Apple is scheduled topreviewthe next major versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS at an annual developers conference, which kicks off with a keynote on June 5.
