There were rumors that the 12.9-inch iPad would be unveiled at Monday’s Apple Watch event, but new reports suggest that the giant tablet will not be available until fall. Apple is looking to target corporate customers with the new tablet, which offers a bigger screen for better work space. It is also expected to have support for USB-connected devices, an omission that current iPad users have struggled with.
Apple’s sales of tablets have struggled recently, and the company has never done well with business customers, who have tended to be wary of adopting Apple products since some, like the Xserve, have been deleted without notice. However, Apple is serious about getting its mobile products into corporate hands, so much so that it has partnered with IBM to get business security and software onto iPads.
iPad sales have shrunk in five of the past seven quarters, and the tablet has been a noticeable weak point even during Apple’s record-setting last quarter of 2014. The iPad has fared even worse than rival tablets, now making up only 23 percent of the market.
In addition to adding USB ports, Apple is considering adopting USB 3.0 technology, a much faster version promising to transfer data as much as 10 times faster than current USB ports. This would be a particularly useful tool for transferring large amounts of information. The company is also working on technology to speed up the charging time of the tablets, and may add additional ports for connecting keyboard and mouse.
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