Apple will launch 7.85-inch iPad next year: rumours

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs remained opposed to create an iPad with smaller screen, for example a 7-inch iPad, claiming apps wouldn’t run well on an iPad of that size. Late Mr. Jobs believed that anything below 10-inch wouldn’t cut it as a tablet computer.

But, the success of Amazon’s Android-based 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet sparked rumours that Apple could also launch a smaller iPad sometime near the final quarter of 2012, following the potential release of iPad 3 in the first quarter of next year.

Online retailer Amazon recently revealed sales figures for its Kindle Fire, claiming it sold well over 1 million units of the tablet per week since its launch in the mid of November.

Taipei-based Digitimes reported that Apple would likely launch a 7.85-inch iPad before the final quarter of 2012.

Reports from industry insiders also claim that the Cupertino, California-based iPad-maker is buying 7.85-inch screens from LG and AU Optronics. insiders also claim that manufacturers in Apple’s supply chain could start production of the 7.85-inch iPad at the end of the second quarter of 2012.

Analyst Richard Shim, from DisplaySearch, estimated that Apple has interest in producing a mini-iPad with a 7.85-inch display. Like Digitimes, Shim also believes that the smaller iPad will come later in 2012 following the releases of the next-generation 9.7-inch iPad sometime between March and June 2012.