A recent report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that Apple will be using the same touch-panel technology that made the iPad mini to make the next-generation 9.7-inch iPad thin and light. Hence, adapting an iPad mini-like design as seen in the photo above.
“What many consumers generally call a “screen” consists of multiple layers, and the “touch panel” specifically refers to the layer equipped with touch sensors, between the liquid-crystal display and the outermost cover glass,” Juro Osawa and Lorraine Luk report for WSJ. “The iPad mini.. uses a film-based touch panel, which is thinner and lighter than the glass-based touch panel that the current full-size model uses. Following the iPad mini’s success, Apple plans to use the film-based touch panel in its next regular-size iPad.”
The report indicates that the use of this film-based touch panel technology will likely spur demand in this sector since Apple is now the world’s largest vendor of Tablet PC.
In addition to the WSJ article, Bloomberg is also reporting that Apple will be updating their iPad models later this year. This will include an iPad with a thinner body design and an iPad mini with a high-resolution screen, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“The planned new full-size iPad, with a 9.7-inch screen, will have a body that more closely resembles the current iPad mini, with a thinner bezel than the current version, said the people. It will be the first redesign since March 2012, when Apple introduced a high-resolution iPad with the current shape. The iPad mini being sold now, with a 7.9-inch screen, doesn’t have the same high-definition display featured on the iPhone and larger iPad,” Adam Satariano & Tim Culpan report for Bloomberg.
