A few months back I complained about Apple's increasingly muddied iPad lineup. In short, my beef was this:
For years, the iPad came in two sizes: "standard/normal" (9.7-inch) and "small" (7.9-inch, officially dubbed iPad Mini). In 2015, Apple introduced a "big" iPad (12.9-inch, aka iPad Pro). While the iPad Pro packs more power and includes support for Apple's wonderful (but overpriced) stylus, to the average consumer, it was just a "bigger iPad." And that was fine; in fact, it made sense! Consumers have for decades been accustomed to three sizes (large, medium, small) for all types of products, ranging from T-shirts to boxes of popcorn.
But then Apple went and released a 9.7-inch iPad Pro this year. Basically, they released a smaller version of its "big" iPad ... which happens to be the same size as the "medium" iPad. To compound matters, Apple's 9.7-inch iPad Pro wasn't a replacement for the 9.7-inch normal iPad, but the two products were supposed to coexist, meaning we had two iPads that look exactly the same -- with same screen and body dimensions -- but one's a "Pro" and the other is .... "Amateur," I guess?
Well, according to highly-regarded Apple insider/leaker Kuo Ming-chi, as reported on Mac Rumors Apple is releasing a 10.5-inch iPad Pro in 2017. It's not known right now whether the 10.5-inch will replace the 9.7-inch iPad Pro as the new standard for Apple's "smaller" iPad Pro, or if it's meant to be another new variant. If it's the former, that means Apple has realized that having two 9.7-inch iPads (that look and feel exactly the same) is confusing.
The more exciting news, according to Kuo, is that much like the iPhone, Apple's saving big changes/innovations for the 2018 edition of the tablet:
Revolutionary iPad model likely to be introduced in 2018 at the earliest, with radical changes in form factor design & user behavior on adoption of flexible AMOLED panel. We believe iPad will follow in the footsteps of the iPhone by adopting AMOLED panel in 2018F at the earliest. If Apple can truly tap the potential of a flexible AMOLED panel, we believe the new iPad model will offer new selling points through radical form factor design and user behavior changes, which could benefit shipments.
Kuo's track record for predicting Apple products is impeccable -- he's been dubbed "the best Apple analyst on the planet" -- so consumers who don't upgrade their gadgets annually might want to hold out for the 2018 iPads instead.
