Apple Inc’s suppliers have started manufacturing new iPads, people with knowledge of the matter said, as the company works to reinvigorate sales of the tablet computers after two straight quarters of declines.
Mass production of a full-sized iPad with a 9.7-inch screen is already under way, with an unveiling projected for the end of this quarter or early next, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are not public.
IPAD MINI
A new version of the 7.9-inch iPad Mini is also entering production and will probably be available by the end of the year, they said.
The timing is crucial as Apple ramps up a new product push for the lucrative year-end holiday shopping season. The lineup is anticipated to include new iPhones with bigger screens, as well as a health-oriented watch-like device, people with knowledge of the matter have said.
The Cupertino, California-based company is holding an event on Sept. 9 to debut the new iPhones, people familiar with the situation have said. Chief executive officer Tim Cook last month said Apple has an “incredible pipeline” that “we can’t wait to show you.”
Apple especially needs to boost its iPad business, which is its second-biggest product category after iPhones.
For Apple’s fiscal third quarter ended on June 28, iPad sales slipped to 13.3 million units. Last month while discussing a new Apple partnership with International Business Machines Corp, Cook made it clear that part of the rationale for the pact was to sell to corporations, so they could “be a catalyst for future iPad growth.”
“The one weak spot for Apple has been the tablet market,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani said.
‘ANTI-REFLECTION’
While the fastest growth days for tablet sales are probably in the past, “a refresh could stabilize the iPad’s revenue and profitability contribution to the company,” Daryanani said.
Output of the larger iPad may be restricted by manufacturing complications related to the use of a new anti-reflection coating, which Apple plans to add to the device to make the display easier to read, one of the people said.
Apple’s largest-ever iPhones, which went into mass production last month, will come in two new models: one with a 4.7-inch screen and another with a 5.5-inch screen, people with knowledge of the plans have said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
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