Apple Delaying Mass Production of 12.9-Inch iPad to Deal with Strong iPhone 6 Plus Demand

Thursday October 9, 2014 3:51 am PDT by Richard Padilla
Apple and its suppliers are delaying plans to mass produce the larger 12.9-inch iPad in order to deal with strong demand for the iPhone 6 Plus, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple was originally planning to mass produce the larger tablet in December, however the company has remained unsatisfied with the production output from its suppliers for its larger iPhone.

12_9_ipad_macbook_air
Mockup of a 12.9-inch iPad next to a 13-inch MacBook Air
“The top priority for the supply chain is to meet the overwhelming demand for the larger screen iPhones. The output of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus remains unsatisfactory,” said a person at a supplier. “It would be challenging for display makers to split resources and spend a few months to ramp up production for a new larger screen iPad now.”
The report also states that Foxconn is having issues with hiring enough factory workers to assemble the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus at its factory in Zhengzhou, China, making it even more difficult to begin production on a new device. Sources told The Wall Street Journal that the 12.9-inch iPad will feature a resolution similar to the current iPad Air's 2048 x 1536 display. Suppliers are also said to be preparing for mass production of the 12-inch MacBook Air in December, which follows similar information from a report yesterday.

A report from Bloomberg in August claimed that Apple would be launching the 12.9-inch iPad in early 2015 after plans for the tablet was put on hold earlier this year. However, that report also noted that the larger iPad would include a high pixel density that nears ultra high-definition quality. The larger tablet was said to be an effort to "shake up the iPad line" as sales of the iPad have been on the decline for the past two quarters.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Air 2 and next-generation Retina iPad mini along with new iMacs and perhaps a new Mac Mini at a special event next Thursday, October 16.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: wsj.com
Buyer's Guide: 12.9" iPad Pro (Don't Buy)
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GuitarDTO
69 months ago
The same iPhone 6 plus that:
Doesn't Exist
Won't Sell
Bends
Cuts Hair
Apple Doomed
Rating: 33 Votes
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The Mercurian
69 months ago
I simply don't believe this product exists.
Rating: 31 Votes
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keysofanxiety
69 months ago
These constant backtracking rumours are making me weary.

It seems this is the cycle:

1) Analyst makes an unsubstantiated guess on a new Apple product and its release date
2) No part leaks/product not released/product never existed
3) Analyst stipulates why this didn't come to fruition (e.g., iPhone demand, iOS bugs, Saturn's alignment with Jupiter)

I know I'm probably on the wrong website to make this comment, but it seems every time there's a rumour about an upcoming product, there's a conflicting rumour a few days later.
Rating: 14 Votes
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eXoguti093
69 months ago

I simply don't believe this product exists.


Just how many believed the 6+ didn't exist?
Rating: 11 Votes
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robeddie
69 months ago
Whenever they do start selling this giant iPad, it - along with the Apple watch - will be two of the most underwhelming products in Apples lineup in terms of sales.

And oh, by the way Apple - just making the same basic product thinner and/or bigger every once in a while doesn't count as ground breaking innovation.
Rating: 11 Votes
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iapplelove
69 months ago

I simply don't believe this product exists.


You're right. The product doesn't exist :)
Rating: 8 Votes
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dmelgar
69 months ago
I think a 13" iPad would be great, especially for business. Makes more sense than a giant phone where portability is more important. If a touch interface is great at 10" it's even better at 13".
They also need to add multiuser support to iOS like android has had for a while. That's why I bought a nexus last time around.
Merging and mixing of iOS and Mac OS X is inevitable. Just not sure it's going to happen yet.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Wiesenlooser
69 months ago

I just don't get why anyone would need a 13" iPad. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPad, and I use it every single day, but a 13" iPad seems like an overkill for what it's capable of. Wether we like it or not, a truly productive device needs a keyboard and a mouse, and iOS apps were never designed to have a mouse.


Who says it wont be able to do more?

Many Artists out there bought the Surface Pro line simply because it was a good drawing device. If the 13 Inch iPad had a digitizer Input device I would buy it day one.
Rating: 6 Votes
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filmantopia
69 months ago
I believe the 12.9 iPad is designed to push the iPad into new, more PC-like territory. It will coincide with new 'pro' software (perhaps a touch Final Cut Pro and Logic, use of Adobe Suite with touch control), feature a powerful processor, super sharp display, ultra sensitive touch control (including allowing the use of a real stylus which makes sense for pro users), new ways of allowing apps to interact with each other, and new ways of interfacing with external devices. Probably not all of this right away, but this is the eventual dream of the iPad Pro.

I see this device being a bigger deal than many are anticipating. It will be a huge hit with people in design, photography, animation, filmmaking... Similar market as the MacBook Pro essentially. This is a completely natural evolution of the iPad in the direction it's always been intended to head in, and now the technology to make it possible has arrived. This could really be awesome and a total game-changer.

...new Apple product covering new territory, another round of disbelievers, doubters, and haters... and it'll be a great product and a huge hit. What a surprise.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Rogifan
69 months ago
On the last earnings call Cook said Apple had "interesting" things planned for the iPad space. I doubt A8 and Touch ID qualifies as interesting.
Rating: 4 Votes

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