Production of 12.9-Inch iPad Pro gets delayed
Apple has now said that it will be delaying the launch of the 12.9-inch tablet, meaning that it will not be sitting in your hands any time in the near future.
The iPad was expected to go in to manufacturing this quarter, but has been delayed until around September, claimed Bloomberg. The mass production of the “not officially” announced tablet, which is also referred to as the “iPad Pro,” has been postponed because of supply issues occurring in the device’s display, sources said.
A report from the Wall Street Journal also confirmed that the start of production will be seen in the second half of the year. Apple is also mulling over adding USB ports and seeking to integrate the faster USB 3.0 version of the data transfer technology.
A 12.9-inch iPad is expected to help attract users of Apple’s Macintosh computers, as well as boost sales of its tablet line.
Previously, iPhone and iPad combined usually made up for about two-thirds of the sales. But after the soaring successes of iPhone 5, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iPad sales have been dwindling down the drain. Sales of the current iPad, which is sized at 9.7 inches, have fallen considerably in the past four quarters, as consumers are opting for large screen smartphones, like iPhone 6.
iPad has been winning the title for Apple’s weakness during the last quarter of 2014, as was revealed in the earnings report by the company in January. Tablet unit sales dropped by a winding 18 percent to 21.4 million, which was just slightly below the analysts’ predictions of 21.5 million.
The company had even launched its latest tablets – the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3 – in October, but according to analysts said that any minor changes, like including faster processors, were not monumental enough to attract a huge flock of buyers.
Apple has been bruised by a few other factors apart from the dwindling iPad sales. People tend to easily pass on older versions of tablets to friends and relatives when they upgrade to a new one, leading to a dent in the demand from consumers who might have purchased their own otherwise. The upgrade cycle for tablets is also longer than that of smartphones, as customers get a financial incentive to upgrade every two years.
