It is widely rumored that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will launch the iPhone 6 in May 2014, which would be a 5 inch phablet. Apart from the iPhone the company is also expected to launch a large tablet in October.
iPhone 6, Bigger iPad or a defacto laptop
According to a report from Digitimes, the 5-inch iPhone 6 would apparently be powered with the 20nm processor manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSMC. The report also suggested that the iPhone maker is looking to launch a 12.9-inch tablet for the North America educational market manufactured by Quanta Computer in October.
Rival Samsung is also rumored to be making a 12 to 13 inch tablet, and it is highly possible that these big size tablets would affect the demand of ultrabooks in more than one way. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s bigger iPad would be a defacto laptop with integrated keyboards and batteries, says a report from Forbes. It can be helpful for students who search for the new features on their iPads and iPad minis.
A larger screen would be a challenge for the developers as iOS7 software would be needed to adopt the larger screen and accordingly modifications will have to be made. The expected iOS8 would have many configurations and features for the larger display screens.
Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves said in a research note on Monday that the balance sheet of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its loyal customer base will safeguard the stock from any potential downside, but there is no significant upside in the near term unless the company rolls out profitable new products or a new service category.
Apple gets two new patents
Earlier this week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) acquired two new patents; one of them is a “touch and hover” display and the other one is a heart rate monitor to read EKG data. Through the hover technology, the user would be able to perform some action on the screen even without touching the screen. The app can be opened or managed by just hovering the finger or stylus over it. It will open as if the user has touched it with a finger.
In the second patent, the heart rate monitor would be able to identify people based on minute differences in heartbeat. In might be possible that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may use these technologies in the upcoming gadgets next year.
