Analyst Skeptical About Imminent Launch for 12.9-Inch 'iPad Pro'

A rumored 12.9-inch iPad may still have significant development time left, according to an analyst at IHS, a supply chain research firm. According to CNET, IHS analyst Rhoda Alexander said there were a number of different larger panels, that could be potentially for a larger iPad, floating around display manufacturers -- but not in volumes necessary for an imminent launch.

"Some manufacturers over the last six months have received sample quantities of a larger panel. They're playing around with a product that could possibly be an iPad-related product," she told CNET in a phone interview.

"Various sizes are being reported with 12.85 inches being one of the sizes," she said.

12_9_ipad_ipads_dark

Mockup of 12.9-inch iPad next to iPad Air and iPad mini

Alexander went on to say that IHS did not see significant shipments of any of the larger panels, and suggested that there may not be a market for iPads larger than the current 9.7-inch model. "We have to get a lot further down the line in terms of seeing really strong indicators from Apple that such a product exists, and we're just not at that point."

Samsung launched a 12.2-inch Galaxy tablet earlier this year with some reviewers saying the device was not very portable and awkward to hold for long periods of time.

According to a research report from Evercore analyst Patrick Wang, Apple's larger iPad may be aimed at the enterprise market. Recent rumors have indicated that the 12.9-inch iPad will launch no earlier than the third quarter of 2014.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iOS 18.3 Leak Provides Clue About iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and iPad Air 7 Launch Timing

Wednesday January 22, 2025 9:39 am PST by
New information has surfaced that indicates the rumored iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and new iPad Air models are nearing launch. A private account on social media platform X today revealed that iOS 18.3 or iPadOS 18.3 will be preinstalled on all of those upcoming devices when they are released. It is still unclear exactly when the devices will launch, but this information suggests that Apple will...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...

Top Rated Comments

HiRez Avatar
143 months ago
"Analyst" is skeptical? Shouldn't everyone be skeptical?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lk400 Avatar
143 months ago
One analyst says that the product another analyst made up isnt ready yet. Analystception.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jasonefmonk Avatar
143 months ago
I think the app grid starts to fail with that many icons. It's reminds me of the things I don't like about Launchpad.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
organerito Avatar
143 months ago
Musicians like me who have already left paper behind would love this size. Average music is 8 1/2 x 11 and larger, and tough on the eyes with the standard iPad. I've been hoping for a while that this rumor is true.

I am there with you!
I am an organist. if I play a two-keyboard organ, the iPad is still ok. If I play any organ with more than 3 keyboards, the iPad is too small.
People in orchestras, choirs would love to have a 8 1/2 x 11 iPad. The only complain I always hear about the iPad as a music sheet reader is its small size.
I would two iPads Pro on release day.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
melendezest Avatar
143 months ago
Who is this product aimed at?

Pro users (better off using MacBook Pro if they are doing serious work)
Regular users (they will use iPad or iPad mini)

*Sigh*

"Pro Users". "Serious work". Why does everyone like to oversimplify everything and put it in a box?

People are using the iPad for "serious work". They are getting paid for it. Hence, "Pros" are using iPads. Perhaps you mean "computing intensive tasks" as the only instance of "serious work"?

Who is this product aimed at? Anyone who likes or can benefit from a bigger screen, more typing real-estate, the iPad app ecosystem, and does not require the high-powered laptop to do autocad or whatever. Musicians would definitely be all over it.

Something like this:



or this:



or this:

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alighieri Avatar
143 months ago
Musicians want this!

Musicians like me who have already left paper behind would love this size. Average music is 8 1/2 x 11 and larger, and tough on the eyes with the standard iPad. I've been hoping for a while that this rumor is true.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)