A new report claims that Apple's rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro that was expected to be released this year has been put on hold.
Many analysts have been claiming that larger tablets could be seen as notebook replacements in the same way the first tablets were seen as netbook replacements. We first heard Apple was working on a larger iPad early last year. Believe it or not, the 12.9-inch iPad was rumored to officially be called "iPad Maxi", that name later changed to iPad Pro when it was believed that Apple would call the iPad 5, iPad Air.
We then learned that Samsung began working on a larger Galaxy tablet in order to beat Apple to market with its own large tablet. Samsung succeeded and officially announced a pair of 12.2-inch tablets in January, the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2.
Early reviews of both devices have been less than favorable, with many claiming the devices are too big, too heavy, too expensive, and don't come close to replacing a laptop. This could be part of the reason Apple has reportedly decided to put the iPad Pro on hold.
Digitimes is reporting that due to "most of the large-size tablet projects face difficulties because of lack of support from related platform developers and ecosystems. Apple has also been said to shelved its large-size tablet project."
The site points out that Samsung flooded the market with tablets with all different screen sizes in January, in a clear attempt to chip away at Apple's iPad market share. The company was pushing both its Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 to the enterprise market, but when compared to comparable notebooks and Android's current enterprise applications being very inferior to those found on PC platforms. The publication claims that Samsung would likely ship around one million 12.2-inch tablets in 2014.
The report doesn't say if Apple has completely shelved its rumored iPad Pro tablet or the company is simply waiting to launch it when it believes the market is ready for a 12.9-inch iPad. As evidenced by many of Apple's most successful devices, it is never first to the party, but when it does get there, it has figured out how to fix the shortcomings its rivals couldn't. Apple would rather release a device when it's ready, not to so it could simply beat a rival to market. Sometimes, slow and steady ready does win the race.
