Apple is exploring iPad designs with even larger screens, says Mark Gurman

Apple
(Image credit: Apple)

Noted analyst Mark Gurman claims that Apple is currently considering future iPad designs with even larger displays. In his first Power On newsletter instalment for Bloomberg, Gurman states that an Apple tablet larger than the latest 2021-issue iPad Pro – which measures 12.9-inches diagonally and starts at £999 ($1099 / AU$1649) for the 128GB wi-fi only model – is a very real possibility. 

Gurman is quick to state that any new iPad screen size is a "couple of years down the road" and that testing of larger-chassis models is still in exploratory stages. After all, Apple is still said to be working on a new iPad Pro with wireless charging and a glass back for 2022, which will be available in the current 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Gurman muses that bigger tablet screens from Apple may further soften the line between the Cupertino giant's existing tablet range – which comprises the 7.9-in iPad Mini, the 10.2-in 8th-gen iPad, the 10.9-in iPad Air and the aforementioned 12.9-in iPad Pro – and its laptop lineup. Currently, Apple’s largest mobile computer is the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Meanwhile at the smaller end of the scale, reports of a new iPad Mini for 2021 are gaining momentum. The model could boast the same chassis size as the previous model, but with less bezel and more screen. Recent images, courtesy of FrontPageTech.com, indicate a display in excess of the current 7.9in iPad Mini that will be made possible, in part, by nixing the home button in favour of the Touch ID system.

As always, when we know more, so shall you... 

MORE: 

Check out the best iPad deals 2021: cheapest iPad Air, iPad Pro and iPad Mini prices

Not set on Apple? These are the best tablet deals 2021: iPad, Fire, Galaxy tablets

Not sure which iPad is for you? See our pick of the best iPads 2021: big, small, budget and premium 

Becky has been a full-time staff writer at What Hi-Fi? since March 2019. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, she freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 20-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance is of course tethered to a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo, This is Cabaret and The Stage. When not writing, she dances, spins in the air, drinks coffee, watches football or surfs in Cornwall with her other half – a football writer whose talent knows no bounds.