According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, it may also be preparing a more affordable iPad for the second half of the year and a new iPad mini for the beginning of 2021.
Kuo says there’s going to be a 10.8-inch iPad and an iPad mini with a screen that’s somewhere around 8.5 to 9 inches in size. The two tablets are supposedly designed with an optimized bill of materials to make the final price more enticing at a time when consumers hold on to their devices for longer and aren’t quite as inclined as before to spend their hard earned cash on a shiny new mobile device.
The existing low-cost, 10.2-inch iPad costs $329 (currently $249.99 on Amazon), so it’s likely that the newer model with a slightly larger screen will be around the same price when it launches. Kuo says around 60 to 70 percent of all iPad shipments consist of the entry-level models, so it would make perfect sense to upgrade the internals of the new 10.8-inch iPad while keeping the price the same as before.
As for what chipset will power the new device, there’s a chance it may come with the A13 Bionic that powers the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11. However, even the A12 Bionic chip that powers the iPad mini and iPad Air would be a significant upgrade over the A10 Fusion found inside the current entry-level iPad.
Rumors aside, it would be reasonable to expect a new entry-level ?iPad? this year, as the device has been updated annually for the past three generations. Also, the A10 chip was first used in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, so there’s a good case for arguing that it’s about time Apple took the processing power up a notch in its most affordable ?iPad?. The A12 chip first appeared in the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and the 2019 versions of the ?iPad? Air and ?iPad? Mini.
In recent weeks, the anonymously-run Twitter account “L0vetodream” has noted that some products and components have been delayed, including the new iMac models and the A14 chip. It has also hinted at a 2021 release for a rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Ming-Chi Kuo accurately revealed several details about the new ?iPhone SE? before any other leakers that we know of, including that the device would launch in the second week of April and come in three storage capacities. Likewise, the account accurately claimed that new iPad Pro models would launch in the third week of March.
