With so many rumors about an Apple tablet buzzing around , it ’s unvoiced to believe Apple would n’t announce one this class . But what do we really know about this matter ?
orchard apple tree fans are an expectant crew , and one affair or another has gotten their hopes up nearly every class since the dying of the Newton . But more recent — and especially post - iPhone — tablet rumors have become so acute , varied and inconsistent that it ’s hard to come out with a consistent film of what to expect . Here ’s what we ’ve draw , and what it think .
letters patent
Patent applications have kindled more flaky Apple rumour than I can count , but there has been an undeniable cluster of activity around tablet - orient tech as of late .
The earliest seed of the current tablet frenzy can betraced back to 2004 , when Apple register for a European design trademark on a equipment that looked like “ an iBook blind minus the body of the computer . ” It was much larger than what people are ask now , but in some ways the design forecast the aesthetic of the next few generations of iMac , and even the iPhone .
decamp forrad to 2006 , when Apple file for a patent of invention for an onscreen keyboard , gesture recognition and a virtual roll rack . Again , some of these technologies would bump their agency into the iPhone before too long , but the software contained a telling mockup of a pad of paper - esque product , smaller than the 2004 version , but which suit most of its description .
A fuss of offhanded “ tablet”shout - outsin tangentially related patents follow , but none carried much weight . It was n’t until August of ’ 08 that something truly momentous passed in front of the weary eyes of a Patent Office employee : A huge , generously illustrate filingdescribing how OS cristal could be accommodate to advert stimulant . In it were descriptions of iPhone - alike port element magnification , a full - sized multitouch onscreen keyboard , and finally , plenty of drawings of a tablet machine being prod by inexplicably troll - like horror - finger ( shown at left ) . A hardware patent of invention — kind of like the 2004 tablet patent — surfaced a few months later , outlining a keyboardless twist not unlike the one sketched previously .
https://gizmodo.com/iphone-docking-station-patent-app-shows-multi-o-236906
In a nutshell , even though an Apple touchscreen tablet does n’t yet exist , your attorney would probably still counsel you against trying to strike hard one off .
Rumors ( and fact )
Companies file patent for all variety of reason , and when you ’re as full-grown as Apple raft of them go unused . They only ply context for other juicier rumor — employee wetting , coded statement from company leadership , ironware orders work on through three layers of Taiwanese crush — that can really grow leg . Apple tablet rumors have short life — they either come rightful within a reasonable timeframe or they fizzle out . Point is , decently now there ’s a glut of them .
The current groundswell of waste venture harks back to late 2007 , when AppleInsider conjured a rumor that Apple was working on aslightly larger versionof the iPhone . This was the first time in a while that anyone had blab about such a intersection , and it was exciting : Jesus mocked up a beautiful version himself , which led to a massively popularPhotoshop contest .
https://gizmodo.com/apple-macbook-touch-concept-and-thoughts-on-the-newton-303927
In 2008 , a loose - lipped German Intel executive let slip that Apple may be work on an Atom - based building block , which he referred to as a “ translation of the iPhone . ” This remaining outburst was quickly minimize , but was soon accompany by a full - throatedalert from MacDailyNewsthat an OS X - equip MacBook Touch would drop by October .
https://gizmodo.com/rumor-macbook-touch-coming-in-october-5027706
Next do aNYT reportin October that a “ Macbook Nano or iPhone Slate ” gimmick had been unwrap in the traffic logs of a major hunting engine . As was the leaning those day , mass perfect in on the possibility of a Mac netbook , to which Steve Jobs cryptically respond that Apple would “ wait and see ” how sales held up , and that in the event that they enter the ultraportable market , they ’ve “ got some pretty interesting ideas … ” Oh skilful nice , what could that entail ?
https://gizmodo.com/macbook-nano-or-iphone-slate-caught-online-says-nyt-5067405
This is when things really picked up . TechCrunchstuck their neck outtoo , saying that they ’d talked to “ three different source ” unaired to Apple , all of whom confirmed an iPod Touch - alike gadget . This mean — counter to MacDailyNews ’ talking of a fully functional tablet computer — that it would run a stripped down roving OS X like the one in the iPhone .
https://gizmodo.com/rumor-apple-launching-giant-ipod-touch-next-fall-5121277
Just a few months ago , something resembling hard evidence emerged : The Commercial Times , Dow Jones news telegram and Reutersall reportedthat Apple had ordered 9.7″ multitouch panels from Wintek . These would be the displays in a equipment set for a Q3 release . Shortly after , the WSJreminded usthat Steve Jobs was still pulling all the strings at Apple , and went out on a limb to say that he was working on something :
https://gizmodo.com/apple-releasing-a-touchscreen-netbook-this-summer-5166576
People privy to the caller ’s scheme say Apple is ferment on unexampled iPhone models and a portable gadget that is smaller than its current laptop reckoner but full-grown than the iPhone or iPod Touch .
BusinessWeek then put on their rumour - blog hat too , latterly corroborated these rumors with sourced rumors of their own , fingering Verizon as a possible carrier for a3G - enable “ Media Pad ” . They were even so sheer as to nail down the summertime of ’ 09 as a potential going date .
https://gizmodo.com/businessweek-apple-rumored-to-bring-tablet-and-iphone-5230376
Deja Vu ?
Something striking about these rumors is how conceptually similar they are to rumors from 7 or 8 years ago . This is from a2002 eWeek “ hunch ” post , the last time that Mac tablets seemed “ inevitable ” , mostly on account of Apple ’s rival Microsoft , and its over - hyped promotion of all things tablety :
This pre - release hardware mix a next - generation , low - magnate Motorola PowerPC chip and redoubtable silver screen real estate into a typically telling Apple industrial figure . The hardware is lightweight and lithesome , and the battery spirit skunk comparable Tablet PCs … the software is homegrown , pairing Mac OS X with the company ’s impressive handwriting - recognition technology
The writer , Matthew Rothenberg , afterwards specified :
[ It ’s a ] equipment that superficially resembles a great iPod with an 8 - inch slanted screen , lack a keyboard , packs USB and FireWire ports and runs Mac OS X along with a miscellany of multimedia goodies
A big screen that serve as the chief stimulation gimmick , a minimalist design , a proprietary Apple input signal system and estimable - than - mean battery life ? That describes the theoretical twist of 2009 well-nigh as well as it does those of 2002 . Anyway .
The Most Compelling grounds
Hidden somewhere amidst all the patent - filing and report - staking are some lawfully convincing opus of information :
• Steady allegatons of Apple ’s long , storied interest in pad — buoy up by occasional patent filing — count for something , as does their consistent cynicism about netbooks ( the only real option to lozenge in the ultramobile computing distance ) .
• The late 2008 letters patent app for a multitouch tab interface is thorough , practical , well-timed and carry a plausible ( if introductory ) mockup .
• The Wintek 9.7″ gore order is the closest thing to hard grounds that we ’ve find . It ’s a secure bet that Apple has them , or will presently , and that they ’re putting them to use — but not a sure one .
• That the twist has no keyboard , is moderately sized , and that it ’s media - centric are all ideas partake by those who ’ve separately floated sourced tablet rumors ( TechCrunch , BusinessWeek , MacNewDaily ) .
It looks like there ’s a good hazard a pad is on its way . Separate rumors manoeuvre to similar launching dates : Some say Q3 , some say June , but they all could be talking about the same date , or at least the same swath of prison term .
What to gestate as an O is more difficult to divine from the above venture , but common gumption is instructive : iPhone atomic number 76 would n’t work on a larger machine . It ’d be more trouble than it ’s worth to reconfigure the core user interface for a 10″ screen , and all the grand of third - party apps pen with the iPhone ’s screen size and physique in judgement would becoming all but useless . Barring some kind of app - in - a - window workaround — which does n’t sound very Apple - similar — or an entirely new version of OS X — which does n’t seem necessary — screen background OS X with a modified shell , as shown in the 2008 interface patent , stands as the most potential campaigner . It works pretty well on 9″ netbooks as is , so a 10″ silver screen with smart multitouch interface would make for a solid user experience .
Another coarse train of thought that runs through most of these rumors is the sensation that this equipment would ( or will ) be a disruptive , industry - altering intersection , like the iPhone or iPod . But it ’s difficult to see exactly how it would be : Far from setting unexampled standard for smartphones or revolutionizing the portable music instrumentalist industry , an Apple pad would be tread where many others have before . It will be humble than older tablet PCs and miss the keyboard , but that ’s not humanity dissimilar , functionality - judicious than MIDs and UMPCs like the OQO . It ’d be thinner , would n’t have a keyboard and would pack OS X , sure , but itmight not be distinct enoughfrom survive hardware to really shake things up .
https://gizmodo.com/im-afraid-an-apple-tablet-would-be-stupid-5160598
There is plenty we do n’t know , and very little we can depend on . In the end , we have a blind size of it , a likely manakin - factor , an OS and a likely release window . Past that , the info is all stubble , and your speculation as to how this thing will await — or if it will ever hail out — is as good as ours . And guess you have — over the retiring few long time everyone and their mummy has mocked up an Apple Tablet . Here are our favorite from readers and industry insiders alike :
AppleiPadmacbook touchSteve JobsTablet
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