{"id":336882,"date":"2017-03-28T02:59:18","date_gmt":"2017-03-27T18:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macrumors.com\/2017\/03\/27\/10-inch-ipad-pro-production-begins-launch-unclear\/"},"modified":"2017-03-28T02:59:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-27T18:59:18","slug":"10-5-inch-ipad-pro-entering-limited-production-but-spring-wwdc-or-fall-launch-remains-unclear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/10-5-inch-ipad-pro-entering-limited-production-but-spring-wwdc-or-fall-launch-remains-unclear\/","title":{"rendered":"10.5-Inch iPad Pro Entering Limited Production, But Spring, WWDC, or Fall Launch Remains Unclear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple’s manufacturing partners will begin limited production of the rumored 10.5-inch iPad<\/a> Pro this month, according to IHS Markit analyst Rhoda Alexander, who spoke with Forbes<\/a><\/em> over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"
At this point, however, it remains unclear whether the 10.5-inch iPad Pro will be announced later this spring, at WWDC 2017<\/a> in June, or in the fall or later, and rumors are lacking consensus.<\/p>\n

Japanese blog Mac Otakara<\/em> previously said Apple would unveil its new iPad Pro lineup at a March event, but that rumor failed to materialize. Instead, Apple last week announced a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad<\/a>, 128GB iPhone SE<\/a>, new Apple Watch bands<\/a>, and a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and<\/a> iPhone 7<\/a> Plus through its Newsroom.<\/p>\n

The latest rumor from DigiTimes<\/em> claims Apple is planning to unveil the 10.5-inch iPad Pro at an early April event<\/a> to “mark the inauguration” of its new Apple Park<\/a> campus, which opens to employees next month<\/a>. While this timeline could be correct, it’s unlikely Apple would have shared such specific plans with the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Alexander believes an April launch “still looks somewhat tentative,” but she said “the necessary elements are starting to come together,” so it’s possible Apple could do a limited spring launch in the United States and select other countries, followed by a wider rollout as production ramps up.<\/p>\n

A person with sources within Apple’s supply chain told MacRumors<\/em> that they still expect the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to launch in the spring. The person requested full confidentiality due to the nature of their position.\n<\/p>\n

\n

It looks like Apple is doing the releases in a staggered fashion. I still expect a 10-inch-range iPad sometime in the spring. The supply chain is pretty clear that it is coming, maybe as soon as April.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A handful of Apple analysts that we spoke to reiterated that a fall launch is more likely, however, and if volume production has yet to begin, then a launch later this year rather than sooner is certainly a possibility.<\/p>\n

Apple pundit John Gruber made a good point<\/a> last week about why it would make sense for Apple to wait until at least October to announce the 10.5-inch iPad Pro: to avoid spoiling the design of the much-rumored iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display, which is expected to be announced in September.\n<\/p>\n

\n

I think the most likely explanation is that Apple is working on a new edge-to-edge design iPad with a 10.5-inch display, but that it\u2019s a 2018 thing, not a 2017 thing. Or, at the very earliest, a late 2017 thing \u2014 something they could unveil in October. [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Among all the other aforementioned things that don\u2019t make sense regarding the rumor that a 10.5-inch iPad is imminent is the idea that the new design language would debut on an iPad, not an iPhone.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But just how much of a spoiler the 10.5-inch iPad Pro might be remains to be seen, as rumors are conflicting about whether the tablet will have an edge-to-edge display or simply a narrow bezel design<\/a>. It is also uncertain if Apple will remove the Home button<\/a> on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro in line with the “iPhone 8<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Back in August, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo<\/a> said Apple would launch a 10.5-inch iPad Pro<\/a> and new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in “2017,” and he generally shares accurate information, so there is a good chance the tablets are coming at some point this year. He also predicted the low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.<\/p>\n

Just a few weeks ago, mobile marketing firm Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers<\/a> in its device data. As it turns out, these model identifiers are not for the new 9.7-inch iPad<\/a>, suggesting that they could be for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.<\/p>\n

Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would suggest a release by the end of April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple’s manufacturing partners will begin limited production of the rumored 10.5-inch iPad<\/a> Pro<\/a> this month, according to IHS Markit analyst Rhoda Alexander, who spoke with Forbes<\/a><\/em> over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n
\nAt this point, however, it remains unclear whether the 10.5-inch iPad Pro will be announced later this spring, at WWDC 2017<\/a> in June, or in the fall or later, and rumors are lacking consensus.<\/p>\n

Japanese blog Mac Otakara<\/em> previously said Apple would unveil its new iPad Pro lineup at a March event, but that rumor failed to materialize. Instead, Apple last week announced a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad<\/a>, 128GB iPhone SE<\/a>, new Apple Watch bands<\/a>, and a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7<\/a> Plus<\/a> through its Newsroom.<\/p>\n

The latest rumor from DigiTimes<\/em> claims Apple is planning to unveil the 10.5-inch iPad Pro at an early April event<\/a> to “mark the inauguration” of its new Apple Park<\/a> campus, which opens to employees next month<\/a>. While this timeline could be correct, it’s unlikely Apple would have shared such specific plans with the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Alexander believes an April launch “still looks somewhat tentative,” but she said “the necessary elements are starting to come together,” so it’s possible Apple could do a limited spring launch in the United States and select other countries, followed by a wider rollout as production ramps up.<\/p>\n

A person with sources within Apple’s supply chain told MacRumors<\/em> that they still expect the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to launch in the spring. The person requested full confidentiality due to the nature of their position.<\/p>\n

It looks like Apple is doing the releases in a staggered fashion. I still expect a 10-inch-range iPad sometime in the spring. The supply chain is pretty clear that it is coming, maybe as soon as April.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A handful of Apple analysts that we spoke to reiterated that a fall launch is more likely, however, and if volume production has yet to begin, then a launch later this year rather than sooner is certainly a possibility.<\/p>\n

Apple pundit John Gruber made a good point<\/a> last week about why it would make sense for Apple to wait until at least October to announce the 10.5-inch iPad Pro: to avoid spoiling the design of the much-rumored iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display, which is expected to be announced in September.<\/p>\n

I think the most likely explanation is that Apple is working on a new edge-to-edge design iPad with a 10.5-inch display, but that it\u2019s a 2018 thing, not a 2017 thing. Or, at the very earliest, a late 2017 thing \u2014 something they could unveil in October. [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Among all the other aforementioned things that don\u2019t make sense regarding the rumor that a 10.5-inch iPad is imminent is the idea that the new design language would debut on an iPad, not an iPhone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But just how much of a spoiler the 10.5-inch iPad Pro might be remains to be seen, as rumors are conflicting about whether the tablet will have an edge-to-edge display or simply a narrow bezel design<\/a>. It is also uncertain if Apple will remove the Home button<\/a> on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro in line with the “iPhone 8<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Back in August, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo<\/a> said Apple would launch a 10.5-inch iPad Pro<\/a> and new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in “2017,” and he generally shares accurate information, so there is a good chance the tablets are coming at some point this year. He also predicted the low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.<\/p>\n

Just a few weeks ago, mobile marketing firm Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers<\/a> in its device data. As it turns out, these model identifiers are not for the new 9.7-inch iPad<\/a>, suggesting that they could be for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.<\/p>\n

Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would suggest a release by the end of April.<\/p>\n

Related Roundup: iPad Pro<\/a>
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)<\/a> <\/div>\n

Discuss this article<\/a> in our forums<\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[68,69,59,26],"class_list":["post-336882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-macrumors","tag-media","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}