Apple is dropping iPad mini development in order to focus its efforts on the so-called ‘iPad Pro,’ according to a sketchy new report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News this evening. The site claims that this year’s iPad mini 3 model will be the last for the 7.9-inch tablet line.
Such a move wouldn’t be surprising, as Apple gave little attention to the smaller iPad at last month’s event. It’s believed that the mini is far less popular than its larger sibling in terms of sales, and due to production costs and pricing, it provides much smaller profit margins.
There seems to be a general move toward larger screen sizes in mobile devices, and the recent release of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus makes the 7.9-inch iPad mini a bit less necessary. This also wouldn’t be the first time Apple discontinued work on a product line (see iPhone 5c).
Again, this is all speculation at this point, as Economic Daily News has a shaky track record. Like the oft-criticized site Taiwanese Digitimes, it seems to have some credible supply chain sources, but its penchant for publishing rumors with little context causes frequent inaccuracies.
As for the iPad Pro, Japanese site Macotakara offered up some new details for the tablet over the weekend. It claims that the device will house a 12.2-inch display, be as thin as an iPhone 6, feature dual stereo speakers, and be aimed at Microsoft’s Surface and similar devices.
The most recent rumors say Apple is hoping to launch the iPad Pro in early 2015.
[Economic Daily News via MacRumors]