Apple's eighth-generation iPad will arrive this year and feature an A12 chip, according to an anonymous Twitter account with a thus-far proven track record for forthcoming Apple product leaks.
Apple's seventh-generation iPad, introduced in September 2019, was an iterative update to the sixth-generation low-cost iPad, with a larger 10.2-inch display and support for new accessories. However, it used the same A10 Fusion chip as the sixth-generation iPad.
On Thursday, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple is working on two new iPad models, which include a 10.8-inch iPad and an 8.5 to 9-inch iPad mini. These new iPads are expected to launch in the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021, respectively.
Kuo said that he believes the two new iPad models will follow the iPhone SE's product strategy, which means affordable price points. The existing low-cost iPad is 10.2 inches, so it's not clear if Apple plans to introduce larger-sized tablets or increase the available display size through bezel reduction.
in my dream iPad 2020 A12 — 有没有搞措 (@L0vetodream) May 15, 2020
Rumors aside, it would be reasonable to expect a new entry-level iPad this year, as the device has been updated annually for the past three generations. Also, the A10 chip was first used in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, so there's a good case for arguing that it's about time Apple took the processing power up a notch in its most affordable iPad. The A12 chip first appeared in the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and the 2019 versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini.
In recent weeks, the anonymously-run Twitter account "L0vetodream" has noted that some products and components have been delayed, including the new iMac models and the A14 chip. It has also hinted at a 2021 release for a rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro.
The Twitter account accurately revealed several details about the new iPhone SE before any other leakers that we know of, including that the device would launch in the second week of April and come in three storage capacities. Likewise, the account accurately claimed that new iPad Pro models would launch in the third week of March.
Top Rated Comments
iPad mini - smallest, most portable
iPad - cheapest
iPad Air - best for most
iPad Pro - highest end, fastest, pick a size
A very simple lineup, actually.
Plus the iPad Air will get updated.
That’s why I predicted 10.2” and conventional Touch ID, but some seem to be predicting 10.8”.
So NOT 500...
Sales pay the bills of the software dev along with the hardware dev. Product segmentation is a real thing in every industry, because a company’s existence is to SELL a product. Or a service.
You got what Jobs gave you, which wasn’t always “the best”, but it was the only, you just didn’t know any better. Most were just happy to get what they got.
No one wax’s poetic about the first gen MacBook Air. It was slow and expensive and only had one USB port. Tim Cook is simply trying to broaden the iPad appeal the same way we have more than one Mac, because people like a 16” MacBook Pro over a 13” MacBook Air.
This isn’t Soviet Russia where you got one choice of car or you hoofed it. Choice drives competition, sales and innovation.
Maybe the iPad isn’t for you.