At the upcoming Wanderlust event on September 12, we are set to see the new iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the new USB-C AirPods Pro models. Now, if Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is to be believed, there could have been one more addition to this list – an iPad with a behemoth 14-inch display.
In the latest edition of his newsletter Power On, Mark Gurman mentions that Apple got close to releasing a 14-inch iPad this year but the company had to scrap the plans due to certain complications that are accompanied by a big screen.
14-inch iPad in pipeline?
Currently, Apple has no plans to release an iPad with a bigger screen in the near future, as per Gurman. As per rumours, the largest iPad Pro model will have a 13-inch display when it is announced in 2024. In its current lineup, the tech giant offers a 12.9-inch display on the biggest iPad.
One of the major hurdles that prevented Apple from bringing a 14-inch iPad was the transition to OLED screens from LCDs in the iPad lineup. The transition would bring an additional cost, especially on larger displays.
Rumors of larger iPad
It is a known fact that Apple has been exploring bigger screens for iPads. The move is aimed at blurring the line between a tablet and a laptop. In 2021, Mark Gurman himself reported that Apple is working on developing a larger iPad.
In January 2022, The Elec reported that Apple supplier BOE has modified its manufacturing factory to design larger OLED displays for future iPads with 15-inch displays.
This was followed by a leak by Twitter leakster Majin Bu who mentioned that Apple is planning to release a 14.1-inch iPad model with the M2 chip, 512 GB base store and 16GB RAM.
According to my resource, Apple is developing a new 14.1-inch iPad M2 with 512GB and 16GB of base memory. The new M2 line is expected to include a new 11-inch model with no major changes, a new 12.9 model with reduced bezels and this new 14.1 iPad #Apple #AppleRumor
— Majin Bu (@MajinBuOfficial) June 8, 2022
DSCC’s Ross Young also corroborated with Majin Bu and said that the 14-inch iPad model will arrive with a Pro Motion display similar to iPad Pro models.
In the most recent set of rumours about a bigger iPad, The Information said in October 2022 that Apple is developing a 16-inch iPad and it could be released in the fourth quarter of 2023.
However, more recently, Ross Young has confirmed that Apple has shelved its plan to launch a larger iPad. He mentioned that either the company has cancelled the plan entirely or it has been postponed to a much later date.
From the rumours, it is clear that Apple indeed explored the idea of iPads with a bigger display. However, we are yet to see these rumours come to fruition.