Apple Working on the iWatch, a Bigger iPhone, a Less Expensive iPhone, a Retina iPad Mini, and More

Rene Ritchie at iMore has shared some insights on Apple's product roadmaps across a number of products. Ritchie is somewhat circumspect in his statements, but reading between the lines, he hints at a number of significant developments that have been rumored previously.

iMore has been very accurate in recent years, including reporting on the Lightning connector months before it was publicly released, the iPad mini's launch, as well as revealing the iPhone 5's announcement date more than a month ahead of time.

macrumors-ipad5a
The full post is worth a read, but Ritchie says that sources "who have provided accurate information in the past" told him that the iWatch project is moving forward, though he has not heard anything regarding feature sets or timelines.

The iTV project is still in the works, but there is no significant movement on it as the realities of the TV and content markets remain the same. Rumors of an iPhone with a larger screen are accurate, but release "doesn't sound imminent", and its the same story for a less expensive iPhone. It's likely coming, but is a question of timing.

Finally, Ritchie talks of a redesigned iPad to match the iPad mini's bezel design (mockup pictured above):

To bring the full-sized iPad casing in line with the iPad mini's, and to bring the iPad mini display up to the full size iPad's Retina quality, will take improvements to the efficiencies of the screens, the LED that lights them, the chipsets that drive them, and the batteries that power them. All of those are coming, it's just a question of when they get here.

He notes that an iPad mini with Retina Display is on the drawing board, as soon as Apple can figure out how to cram the display into the mini's diminutive case. He also expresses excitement for Apple's software plans in particular, future releases of iOS. He wrote that his sources "sound excited about not just the atoms but the bits as well."

None of what Ritchie writes reveals anything particularly new or astonishing, but given his extremely accurate track record over the past few years, it's an important look into what Apple could be planning for the rest of 2013.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 11, Apple TV

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Top Rated Comments

ConCat Avatar
165 months ago
So why is this front page news then?

Because it's news, and on the front page.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SteveJobs2.0 Avatar
165 months ago
Never saw someone make so many pointless and empty predictions before. "New iPhones will come... Eventually!" Yeah, no kidding.

The real story that needs to be reported is that Apple is basically become a company without focus. They are attempting to grow their customer base in the near term by providing a multitude of products. While it will improve their short-term sales numbers, they will ultimately dilute their brand to nothing other than just another competitor in a sea of many. Apple products used to be trend setting and well targeted, but are now just reduced to following whatever else looks even remotely promising.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MRU Avatar
165 months ago
Not surprising to anyone other than the masses who believed a retina ipad mini would be launched in March ......




So why is this front page news then?
Your the third post and you felt the need to quote the entire article ?..... :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
165 months ago
Jeez, with all these screen sizes, Apple should just allow users to specify exactly what size they want their iOS devices to be:

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
165 months ago
A tablet (or smartphone/iPod Touch) is really ONLY software, to the user. It's just a slab of software--whatever task you are doing at the moment--with a lot of hidden stuff driving it.

Software indeed is the most exciting, and it sometimes arrives for free on the device you already own! A thinner iPad will be neat, but iOS 7, 8 and beyond interest me even more. (And yes, OS X. I need my trucks!)

The lack of leaks about iOS 7 is kind of fun, actually. No big supply chains letting stuff leak every which way.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MultiMediaWill Avatar
165 months ago
[url=https://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/14/rene-ritchie-on-the-iwatch-a-bigger-iphone-a-less-expensive-iphone-a-retina-ipad-mini-and-more/)[/url]


Rene Ritchie at iMore has shared some insights (http://www.imore.com/update-2013-iphones-ipads-itvs-and-iwatches) on Apple's product roadmaps across a number of products. Ritchie is somewhat circumspect in his statements, but reading between the lines, he hints at a number of significant developments that have been rumored previously.

iMore has been very accurate in recent years, including reporting on the Lightning connector (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/23/apple-readying-miniaturized-dock-connector-for-future-iphones/) months before it was publicly released, the iPad mini's launch (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/10/7-inch-ipad-with-retina-display-coming-in-october-priced-at-200-250/), as well as revealing the iPhone 5's announcement date (https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/30/iphone-5-and-ipad-mini-to-be-announced-on-september-12th/) more than a month ahead of time.

Image (https://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2013/02/macrumors-ipad5a.jpg)
The full post is worth a read (http://www.imore.com/update-2013-iphones-ipads-itvs-and-iwatches), but Ritchie says that sources "who have provided accurate information in the past" told him that the iWatch project (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/10/nyt-apple-is-working-on-a-curved-glass-smart-watch/) is moving forward, though he has not heard anything regarding feature sets or timelines.

The iTV project is still in the works, but there is no significant movement on it as the realities of the TV and content markets remain the same. Rumors of an iPhone with a larger screen are accurate, but release "doesn't sound imminent", and its the same story for a less expensive iPhone. It's likely coming, but is a question of timing.

Finally, Ritchie talks of a redesigned iPad (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/07/size-comparison-of-ipad-4-ipad-mini-iphone-5-and-upcoming-ipad-5/) to match the iPad mini's bezel design (mockup pictured above):
He notes that an iPad mini with Retina Display is on the drawing board, as soon as Apple can figure out how to cram the display into the mini's diminutive case. He also expresses excitement for Apple's software plans including both Siri and iCloud, saying that his sources "sound excited about not just the atoms but the bits as well."

None of what Ritchie writes (http://www.imore.com/update-2013-iphones-ipads-itvs-and-iwatches) reveals anything particularly new or astonishing, but given his extremely accurate track record over the past few years, it's an important look into what Apple could be planning for the rest of 2013.

Article Link: Rene Ritchie on the iWatch, a Bigger iPhone, a Less Expensive iPhone, a Retina iPad Mini, and More (https://www.macrumors.com/2013/02/14/rene-ritchie-on-the-iwatch-a-bigger-iphone-a-less-expensive-iphone-a-retina-ipad-mini-and-more/)

So why is this front page news then?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)