Wednesday Apple Rumors: Apple Testing Larger iPad Prototype

by Christopher Freeburn | November 6, 2013 12:17 pm

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

Bigger: Smartphones may not be the only mobile devices to see their screen sizes grow, AppleInsider notes. A report from a Chinese media source says that Apple (AAPL[3]) and its manufacturing partner Foxconn have created a iPad prototype with a much larger screen[4]. The new tablet, which is reportedly in late-stage testing, would have a display ranging between 11.4 inches and 12.9 inches diagonally. According to the report, Apple is looking to launch the larger tablet in March 2014. Currently, Apple makes two tablets, the new iPad Air, which retains the original iPad’s 9.7-inch screen and the iPad Mini, which has a 7.9-inch display. While rumors have surfaced over the past several months that both Apple and rival Samsung are developing larger-screen tablets, most analysts say that tablets with screens in the 7-inch range have proven the most popular with consumers. In fact, increasingly heated competition among 7-inch tablets from a variety of manufacturers may have forced Apple to unveil its Retina iPad Mini in October, even though multiple reports say that supplies of the new tablet will be severely constrained when it launches later this month.

Snooping: Apple has released a report detailing the requests for customer data it receives from government agencies[5], CNET notes. The iPad-maker said that most of the requests pertain to devices that have been reported stolen. “These types of requests frequently arise when our customers ask the police to assist them with a lost or stolen iPhone, or when law enforcement has recovered a shipment of stolen devices,” Apple explains. The Report on Government Information Request[6] compiles law enforcement requests between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year. Government agencies have also requested personal data pertaining to iTunes, iCloud and Game Center account holders, though Apple says those requests comprise only a “small fraction” of total requests. A number of other tech giants, including Google (GOOG[7]), Facebook (FB[8]) and Microsoft (MSFT[9]) have become embroiled in controversy over the extent to which they share customer data with the government. Companies like Apple are also bound by rules regarding what they can disclose about government requests. Apple has insisted that it does not “store location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests in any identifiable form.”

Shut Down: On Wednesday, the operator of a website that tracked the availability of iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPad Air devices at various retail outlets took the site down[10], BGR notes. Morty Tikotzky closed Apple-Tracker.com after receiving a cease and desist letter from a law firm retained by Apple. In the letter, Apple said that the website “scrapes and collects data from apple.com in violation of the apple.com Internet Service Terms of Use.” While some new Apple devices like the iPhone 5c and iPad Air appear to be easy to find, supplies of the iPhone 5s remain constrained and Apple’s upcoming Retina iPad Mini is expected to be very hard to find this holiday season.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[11] stories.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/11/wednesday-apple-rumors-apple-testing-larger-ipad-prototype/

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