iPad Air 2 Release Date: Apple to Unveil New Tablets and OS X Yosemite at an Oct. 21 Event
ByApple is reportedly preparing for another live event next month, this time to unveil a new desktop operating system and new iPads.
Citing an unnamed source close to the matter, Bloomberg News reported Apple will hold its next event Oct. 21, about a month-and-a-half after their Sept. event. Apple is known for releasing its new wave of products and software every fall, just in time for the Holiday shopping season.
The iPad release is an important one for Apple, because sales of the tablet have been in decline for two consecutive quarters. Apple has not commented on the matter.
Timothy Stenovec, a tech blogger for the Huffington Post, opined that Apple's new 5.5-inch iPhone 6 - the company's first "phablet" - will hurt iPad sales even more. He argued that Apple gave its customers more incentive to upgrade to the iPhone 6 Plus rather than spend an additional $400 on an iPad Mini.
The larger-than-ever iPhones are only adding to various reasons why consumers are not buying iPads. For example, Android- and Microsoft-based tablets come at a cheaper price and customers are less inclined to buy brand new iPads the way they upgrade their iPhones.
But Apple is not only going big with their iPhones, Bloomberg noted, as their suppliers are reportedly developing a 12.9-inch iPad, which would be the largest in their line. Apple is reportedly also readying an updated 9.7-inch iPad and a new iPad Mini for release later this fall.
Apple is also going to unveil OS X Yosemite, Apple Insider reported, which the company said at their June Worldwide Developers Conference was due out in the fall. The new desktop operating system's main overhaul will be its interface, which will resemble the latest mobile operating system.
The new iPads are also expected to have Touch ID fingerprint scanners, which first appeared with last year's iPhone 5S.