Several credulous publications have confirmed with their deeply entrenched sources that Apple will be indeed revealing the iPhone 5S and 5C at a media event on September 10, possibly even launching iOS 7 for public consumption the same day. As for the upcoming iPads, conventional wisdom suggests the company might launch a fifth-generation iPad and possibly a Retina iPad mini at a separate media event in order not to take the wind out of the iPhone’s sails.
People have suggested an October launch for new iPads and that just about makes sense to us, but now Bloomberg is casually mentioning that both new iPhones and iPads are on Apple’s agenda for September 10…
Eric Slivka of MacRumors points us to Bloomberg’s article about Apple’s upcoming Tokyo retail store, which contains the following passage:
The Cupertino, California-based company plans to introduce new versions of its phone and tablet at a Sept. 10 event, a person familiar with the matter has said, and the company promised “several more game changers” in the product pipeline as it tries to fend off Samsung Electronics Co. and Chinese makers selling cheaper handsets.
Slivka wonders whether Bloomberg’s mention of new iPads at the September 10 event is an error, but I find that hard to believe given Bloomberg’s credibility.
Moreover, Bloomberg has made a similar quiet mention of both iPhones and iPads at the September 10 event in an article last week.
On the other hand, if Apple announces new iPads come September 10, I don’t think we should be holding our breath for September availability because the current iOS 7 Beta for the iPad is far from being finished.
iPad support first surfaced in iOS 7 Beta 2, which arrived two weeks following the first iPhone-only beta. Comparing the current iOS 7 Beta 6 on iPhones and iPads indicates that the iPad build is falling behind in terms of stability, reliability and optimization – and many developers I talk to share the sentiment.
Clearly there are a bunch of kinks that need to be worked out until the iPad build is ready for prime time, which in turn fuels speculation that September is for the new iPhones while October should be for new iPads.
That is, until Apple chooses to launch new iPads with iOS 6.
What do you make of this?
Could this be a misprint?