iPad Air Plus, iPad Pro Release Date, Specs Rumors: Apple Fans Await Release of Next Generation iPad
Since the beginning of last month, there have been rumors that Apple is preparing to launch a bigger version of its iPad Air.
Now, a leaked photo of a sketch, which was reportedly taken by an employee who works in a Foxconn factory in China where iPads are made, suggests that the rumors of an iPad Air Plus with a whopping 12.2 inch screen are true.
The image, which was released by French website Nowhere Else, shows a sketch of the casing for the tablet, which supports various claims that the iPad Air Plus, also called the iPad Pro by others, will boast four speakers for a more superior sound.
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The website claims that the image is from a Foxconn source, and that according to the source, initial testing for the iPad Air Plus was stopped in the summer and Apple's suppliers will soon start mass production of the device.
The sketch suggests that the tablet will look very much like the iPad Air 2 with the placement of its mic and volume buttons, rounded corners, and rear camera. The device is rumored to have a 12.2 inch screen and is expected to be only 7mm thick.
Perhaps one of the most persistent rumors about the device is that it will run on a hybrid of OS X and iOS integrated operating system. But this doesn't seem likely as Apple executives have denied that they are looking to merge Mac OS X and iOS into a single operating system.
"We don't waste time thinking, 'But it should be one [interface].' How do you make these [operating systems] merge together? What a waste of energy that would be," said Apple SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller to MacWorld.
As for the device's release date, many have suggested different launch dates, but there is some consensus that the iPad Air Plus may make its debut between April and June 2015.
