Apple is reportedly working on 15-inch iPad to challenge Amazon's Echo Show 15
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman released his weekly Power On newsletter today and discussed how Apple trails its rivals badly in the smart speaker market. Research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) credits Apple with owning just 5% of the smart speaker market. Category creator Amazon has a huge 69% slice of the smart speaker pie followed by Google's 25%.
Gurman notes that Apple does not have a smart display in its lineup and says that Apple should produce a large-screen iPad perhaps with a 15-inch screen. Mark did point out back in June that Apple has engineers and designers working on larger-screened iPads that could be ready to hit store shelves in a couple of years. And in giving his explanation as to why a large-screened iPad won't be ready for next year, Gurman "confirms" that a new iPad Pro should be rolled out next year.
Before we talk about a new iPad Pro for next year, let's discuss a 15-inch iPad. Apple would have a huge advantage over Amazon because of the App Store. But Apple would do well to allow such a device to not only run Mac apps but also multitask as its computers do. Besides having the App Store, Apple should also be able to take advantage of its ability to have such a device run on a fast and powerful chipset and include a top-shelf camera.
Gurman says that Apple is looking at making this larger-screened iPad thicker to support more powerful speakers. Additionally, the cameras could have a landscape-first orientation, a rear-facing power plug, and support for a wall mount.
New iPad Pro models are expected next year with 11-inch and 12.9-inch mini-LED displays
A 15-inch iPad could do double duty propped up on a desk in the living room or carried like a tablet outside of the house. While this is something that Apple could produce, the price of such a device could be prohibitive. Additionally, a smart display requires the inclusion of a capable digital assistant such as Alexa and Google Assistant. Siri is not considered to be in the same ballpark as those two digital helpers.
As we mentioned earlier, Gurman believes that Apple will be releasing a redesigned iPad Pro next year with both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models equipped with mini-LED displays, support for the Mag-Safe magnetic wireless charging platform, and the ability to share battery life using reverse wireless charging capabilities.
So how does a larger-screened iPad grab you? Would there be interest on your part, or would you be dissuaded by Siri's shortcomings and a high price?
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