A developer’s discovery, about a month ago, of an all-new, larger virtual keyboard hidden deep within iOS 9 apparently all-but-confirmed the long-rumored 12.9-inch iPad commonly dubbed the ‘iPad Pro’ by the press. Today, a new report says that this new iPad is expected to be released after mid-November, but also hints that Apple is not expecting huge demand for the product.
The report from DIGITIMES cites sources noting that the slate will be manufactured by Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), and says that Apple’s upstream supply chain anticipates beginning to supply components for the tablet in late September.
Most intriguingly, however, the report describes Apple as “rather cautious” with its orders – meaning that, according to upstream supply chain sources, the initial shipment volume is a lot less than what had been widely expected by market watchers. It is unclear whether Apple’s reticent approach has been prompted by cold feet following declining tablet sales across the industry or whether the company simply intends to promote the larger iPad to a more specialist and less mainstream market than its smaller brothers.
