An official from LG Display pointed Apple as the reason why the company has just begun its investment for the 8th generation (2200 x 2500 mm) P8P9 line for oxide TFT processing. This will be started at Paju, South Korea. But how is Apple involved?
LG Display is said to be planning to process an additional 21,000 sheets of oxide LCD panel per month, with glass disks as standard. In the previous year, the company only makes 9,000 sheets per month. Now that LG is planning for an expansion, they will be able to produce 30,000 sheets per month.
The report also cited an allegedly well-informed LG Display official who said, "Investment to produce 30,000 sheets next year's second quarter have started. Apple is creating iPads with 12.9 inch display, which shows they are increasing the panel size. And because so, we are planning in expanding production rate as well."
Further, the report noted that "Apple has decided to use oxide panels in their future iPads and iMacs."
Since this recent report, other tech sites are all the more convinced that Apple is working on a new iPad Pro.
It was also rumored that the iPad Pro could feature a type of active stylus, which is said to be very useful for creative professionals such as photo editors. In addition, they prefer a 12+-inch "Pro" model.
Wacom is one of those companies that manufacture active stylus technology. However, some say that Apple has been busy developing their own stylus.
In addition to this rumor, other reports cited Wall Street Journal indicating that iPad Pro could come with a USB 3.0 port, which allows the device to transfer data, and charger faster than the Lightning port.
It is also expected to come out similar to the larger model of iPad Air 2, with a slim design and narrow screen bezels.
Under the hood, a tri-core, 64-bit Apple A8X processor, or possibly an A9 processor, and 2 GB of RAM could be included.
A split screen-multitasking might also be added, and an iOS 9 could be running the device.
As far as the release date is concerned, the most recent reportedly point to a third quarter release this year.
The cost is estimated to be within $500-$1000.
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