iPad Pro Tablet Release Date: Launch Remains Uncertain

Is Apple looking at a bigger iPad aimed at professional users?

Sources claim that the company is about to do so, but no official announcement has been made yet.

Apple seems to think that a laptop-sized iPad is the solution to the decreasing popularity of the iPad. This news is not new; it has been circulating since 2013. It came into fashion last year when bigger phones suddenly became the trend.

The iPad Pro had been anticipated for release in 2014, but problems in keeping up with the demands for the iPhone have pushed the iPad Pro release date to 2015, Tech Radar reports.

News as to the release of the new iPad has become confusing with the mix of reports coming from different sources. A Chinese news site, "Pad News," has reported a release date of October 2014, while International Business Times reported that the iPad Pro's release is slated for winter or spring of 2015.

Rhoda Alexander, IHS director of tablet and monitor research, is uncertain about whether the rumors about a bigger iPad are even true.

"We have not seen volume shipments yet of any panels. We have to get a lot further down the line in terms of seeing really strong indicators from Apple that such a product exists, and we're just not at that point," she said.

Alexander added: "When this [rumored] product was first discussed, it was said that there were requests from the education market, which I think shows a lack of understanding about how that market works. Those products have to qualify over years. Most of the education market is still using the iPad 2."

The director added that there is no "argument" for it. Apple has kept mum about it so "the usage model is not entirely clear at this point."

With no official word from Apple, it is too early to even expect a release for the so-called "iPad Pro" tablet.