Back in May, the Korean website ETNews said Apple was hard at work on a 12.9 inch version of the iPad called the “iPad maxi”. Now while I personally trust the site when it comes to rumors about Samsung and LG, that was the first time I’ve seen them publish an Apple rumor, so I was skeptical. Today, however, there’s a report from The Wall Street Journal, an incredibly trustworthy publication, that says Apple has been asking their supplier for screens measuring “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally.”
To me, this means the “iPad maxi” is as good as official. The two biggest questions are, of course, pricing and availability. The original Korean rumor said early 2014. There’s no reason why that still can’t happen, though to be perfectly frank, my gut instincts say this larger iPad will be more appropriate if launched during the same time as iOS 8, which I’m going to assume will happen 12 months from now.
And as for pricing, gee, this is hard. Assuming Apple maintains the $330 price tag for the iPad mini, they could cut the price of the 9.7 inch iPad to $440, and then make the starting price of the 12.9 inch iPad $540. Total speculation on my part.
