Back in October 2010, Steve Jobs appeared on an Apple earnings conference call to address the Android-based iPad competitors that were just then coming to the market. With the majority of those tablets carrying 7-inch displays, Jobs noted that the screens were only 45% as large as the iPad's and that Apple believed the iPad's 9.7-inch display was the minimum necessary for an acceptable user experience.
With rumors of an "iPad mini" having circulated since that time and now appearing to gain traction with more prominent sources beginning to point to a launch later this year, interest in the potential device has continued to build. Supporting the idea of a 7-inch tablet, Wired's Christina Bonnington notes that part of iOS software chief Scott Forstall's testimony in the Apple-Samsung patent trial has revealed that content chief Eddy Cue was pushing for a 7-inch iPad by January 2011.
In email, Eddy Cue wrote "I believe there will be a 7-inch market and we should do one." referring to a 7-inch iPad
Apple internal email shows Eddie Cue advocated in 1/11 for 7" iPad, said Steve Jobs seemed receptive most recent time
iMore, which has offered reliable information on a number of topics in recent months, claimed earlier this week that Apple's September 12 media event that has been all but confirmed by numerous mainstream media reports will see the introduction of both the next-generation iPhone and the iPad mini. Other reports have been less clear on the timing for an iPad mini launch, but many believe that it will launch in time for the holiday shopping season.
Update: CNET posts the full email sent by Cue to other senior executives at Apple:
Having used a Samsung Galaxy, I tend to agree with many of the comments below (except moving off the iPad). I believe there will be a 7" market and we should do one. I expressed this to Steve several times since Thanksgiving and he seemed very receptive the last time. I found email, books, facebook and video very compelling on a 7". Web browsing is definitely the weakest point, but still usable.
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech.
iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech
In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real.
The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum.
In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs.
The issue is...
Thursday February 13, 2025 2:45 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Last year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and this year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know.
Standard iPhone 17
Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by Tim Hardwick
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like.
The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...
It's important to remember that this "7 inch" iPad people are talking about is rumored to be closer to 8 inches.
The math I saw worked out to this smaller iPad having 40% more screen space than the current 7" Android tablets (http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/07/10/a-conduit-for-content-how-an-ipad-mini-could-define-the-small-tablet-market/).
So worth remembering...when Steve said those 7" tablets were too small they could still have been planning something in between that and the current iPads.
It's funny that everyone is saying Apple needs to build a 7" iPad to compete in the $199 to $299 market.
I keep thinking about something Jobs once said....
"What we want to do is deliver an increasing level of value to these customers, but there are some customers which we choose not to serve. We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk; our DNA will not let us do that. We've seen great success by focusing on certain segments of the market and not trying to be everything to everybody, and you can expect us to stick with that winning strategy." - Steve Jobs
Remember this is a company that sales $2199 to $2799 base price laptops that they cannot keep in stock due to demand.
Why would they care about the $199 to $299 market?