Apple, long hailed as a Silicon Valley industry innovator under late founder and CEO Steve Jobs, is resorting to the American standard of product innovation three years after Jobs’ death — the assumption that bigger is better.
The company is working on a new, larger 12.9-inch screen iPad planned for launch in the first quarter of 2015, according to a Bloomberg report. The current iPad Air has a 9.7-inch screen and the iPad Mini a 7.85-inch, making the forthcoming iPad the largest in the company’s product line, and barely smaller than the screen on the biggest Macbook Air.
iPad sales have been on a steady decline, and dropped 9 percent in unit sales last quarter compared to 2013, Business Insider reports.
The company is also rumored to be working on a larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model expected to be announced in September. (RELATED: TMZ Claims To Leak iPhone 6 Photos)
Apple has come under increased scrutiny in recent years following a lack of new breakthrough product announcements. Instead, the company has seemingly resorted to updated models of products developed during Jobs’ reign, and purchasing outside startups like Beats Electronics earlier this year. (RELATED: ‘First Billionaire In Hip Hop’ Dr. Dre Celebrates Beats Headphones Sale To Apple)
The Cupertino, Calif.-based innovator received additional criticism for the buyout over the cheap quality of Beats products and entry into the music streaming market, which Jobs reportedly dismissed as a bad fit for Apple.