The rumour that Apple will be releasing a smaller iPad has resurfaced this week, mostly originating from reports via China, South Korean and Taiwan.
These reports are fuelling speculation, which Apple has thus far declined to comment on, that the smaller iPad may be a reality. The same smaller iPad that Steve Jobs was adamantly opposed to in 2010, saying “The 7-inch tablets are tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad.”
The media reports from Asia have claimed that Apple has ordered screens used by Samsung, 7.86″ in size, which is what one would expect if Apple were looking at a smaller iPad for general release. There are pros and cons to a smaller form factor in an iPad. It would put more of the tablet market into Apple’s back pocket but app developers might find the introduction of another screen size onerous. This is assuming that the reports are true.
Whether Steve Jobs would agree with an “iPad mini”, even a rumoured one, is another story.
Source: Business Insider