Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is said to be working on a 12 to 13-inch iPad, and analysts think this is not only good news for Apple itself but also bad news for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). Patrick Wang of Evercore Partners sees this new iPad as a big-time competitor to Intel’s business.
Apple’s bigger iPad to arrive in the fall
Wang predicts that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will unveil a 12-inch iPad in the fall of this year. Analyst Brian White of Cantor Fitzgerald predicted that the device will be less of a tablet and more of a hybrid device. He says it will be larger than a tablet but easier to carry around than a MacBook Air.
Wang is of a similar view, calling this device a two in one hybrid sort of like an “iPad +MBA.” He said it will be similar to the way the majority of iPads are used in the work place similar to how Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Surface tablets are used.
Why Apple’s hybrid device threatens Intel
According to Wang, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s bigger iPad will be powered by an A8 chip (“perhaps 4C)), which just serves to expand the reach of Intel competitor ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:ARMH) (LON:ARM). This is because Apple’s chips use ARM’s architecture.
The analyst believes that this new tablet will change the traditional notebook industry. He notes that there are just two areas where Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) does have a small advantage over Apple, and that’s in Microsoft Office and also local storage. However, by Apple pushing further into the enterprise sector, the company is targeting an area of major strength for Intel and bringing ARM architecture into it.
Intel to see more problems from ARM
In addition to receiving Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s help, ARM itself will also continue to be an even bigger problem for Intel, according to Wang. He calls 2015 the “Year of ARM Server” and says that this year we will probably start seeing the first shipments and deployments of servers running on chips from ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:ARMH) (LON:ARM).
