Anyone who’s been following Apple for a longer time should know very well that the company’s products are constantly surrounded by speculation, and it’s quite hard to browse the Internet without regularly running across rumors about them. This can make it very hard to figure out what to expect from the company with their upcoming releases, and some fans prefer to just avoid rumors altogether and wait for the official announcements to arrive.
On the other hand, some actually enjoy taking part in the speculation, and recently we’ve seen some interesting discussions about the next release in the company’s iPad line. What are Apple planning for 2017 in this regard, and are they going to surprise us with any unusual releases?
One of the biggest questions on many fans’ minds right now is about the future of the iPad Mini. A lot has been said about the tablet over the last months, and it’s clear that many see it as a questionable entry in the company’s line-up at this point.
Apple themselves might be starting to doubt the future of the device, as they haven’t said much about it recently. There are rumors that there won’t be a new iPad Mini in 2017, as the company will instead announce that they are killing off the brand and are going to focus on the standard iPad, possibly also on its advanced editions.
There are also rumors claiming the opposite – that not only is the iPad Mini alive and well, but that we’re even going to see a dual release with another tablet next year. It remains to be seen which of the two is true – if it’s even one of those rumors at all – but the situation is definitely very confusing right now.
And to top it off, there are multiple claims going around regarding the specifications of the 2017 iPad. Some expect the company to release a device that’s very heavily focused on multimedia, with features like a larger screen, multiple speakers, and more.
On that note, some have also been wondering about the headphone jack – in some cases jokingly, while others seem to treat this as a more serious issue. The removal of the 3.5mm jack from the iPhone 7 caused a lot of controversy among Apple’s fans, and we’re still seeing some discussions about it today.
The main argument in favor of the move was that Apple were able to save physical space inside the iPhone, but that shouldn’t be such a major concern with the design of the much larger iPad. In fact, Apple can not only potentially keep the headphone jack intact, but also add some new sensors or other pieces of hardware to the device in order to improve its range of features.
Of course, that’s just wishful thinking, and it also assumes that we know the exact reason for the removal of the headphone jack. There are other theories about the situation as well, such as the suggestion that Apple want to control the market for their own peripherals.
But that’s a different topic altogether. For now, discussions about the iPad are more concerned with other features, even though there are definitely lots of people who’re asking about the headphone jack as well. Some are curious if the next tablet is going to get an even larger resolution in its screen, as this is one of the things Apple have been pushing for the hardest.