Predictions for the Apple iPad in 2017: the duality formula.
Early last year, rumors of a new Apple MacBook Air made the rounds, and even top KGI Securities analyst, (and oracle of all things Apple), Ming-Chi Kuo, at some point, delivered a note to investors in regard to a possible new MacBook Air, only to be proven (partially) wrong, when Apple revealed a completely new 12 inch MacBook Retina.
We knew the 12 inch MacBook Retina was only the beginning of a rippling effect, throughout all major Apple product lines, as the company has long sought to regain control of products that have been running wild in all shapes and sizes. It seems that Apple has finally found a recipe for success: duality.
The writing is on the wall for the MacBook air, while word of a MacBook/MacBook Pro duality seems to be the direction the company is heading, to finally bring order to chaos.
All signs indicate that the iPad is another product that will follow a similar path, according to the latest note to investors from Ming-Chi Kuo, who seems to be confident in his belief that, not only the iPad air isn’t coming back, but it will also be replaced by a low-cost version of the iPad Pro, in an iPad/iPad Pro duality.
Should this rumor prove accurate, or even partially accurate, the strategy might just work, as the iPad Pro will begin to gravitate a lot closer around enterprise customers, which will allow Apple to use some flexibility in its design approach. By this token, Kuo’s predictions also mention a 10.5 inch variant of the iPad Pro in 2017, which bridged the gap between the 9.7 inch iPad Pro, and the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, in the same way as the 12 inch MacBook Retina bridges the gap between the 11 inch, and the 13 inch MacBook Air, or more likely, future 11 inch and 13 inch MacBook Retina products.
Ming-Chi Kuo has not released any information about the future of the iPad Mini, which may mean anything, or nothing. The Mini is a form factor that varies in appeal, with greater peaks and valleys that larger sizes, ergo it might be too early, even for KGI, to make an accurate prediction in regard to Apple’s smallest tablet.
On the other hand, this could also be a sign that Apple might be taking its new direction of product duality at heart, and perhaps reintroduce the iPad Mini with a lot more “Pro” into it, and a simple naming convention based on size, which could lead to a next generation iPad Mini, introduced simply as “7.9 inch iPad”.
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