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Prominent KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a "2017 WWDC highlights" report, outlining his expectations for next month's keynote event. While he expects the typical previews of the next versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, he also predicts we will see several hardware-related announcements.

WWDC-2017-website.jpg

One major debut Kuo expects to see is the long-rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which he says has a greater than 70 percent chance of debuting at the event based on the timing of production ramp-up, which he sees as happening at the end of the current quarter. In line with previous rumors, Kuo believes the 10.5-inch iPad Pro will have a similar form factor as the current 9.7-inch model, squeezing in a larger display thanks to narrower bezels.
The newly designed 10.5" iPad Pro will have a similar form factor to the 9.7" model, but will feature a larger display thanks to narrow bezels. The new design should improve the user experience and help gain traction in the corporate/ commercial sectors. We forecast 10.5" iPad shipments of 5.0-6.0mn units in 2017F, accounting for 15% of total 2017F
iPad shipments.
Kuo also reiterates his belief that there is a greater than 50 percent chance Apple will unveil its Siri smart speaker at WWDC. He previously said that the speaker may not actually launch until later in the year, but an announcement at WWDC would give developers time to begin building support for the product.
In our April 28 Insight report ("Apple's first home AI product to see cyclical shipments of over 10mn units; main competitor is Amazon Echo"), we offered estimates for the new home AI/ Siri speaker line. We also believe this new product will come with a touch panel.
For the first time, Kuo says Apple's speaker will include a touch panel display, a detail that has remained unclear since rumors began. Most previous rumors have made no mention of whether the product will include a display, but Phil Schiller recently suggested such smart speaker products would benefit from the inclusion of a screen.

Apple's WWDC keynote kicks off at 10:00 am Pacific Time on Monday, June 5, and MacRumors will have full coverage of the event as it unfolds.

Article Link: Ming-Chi Kuo Says Apple Likely to Unveil 10.5" iPad Pro and Touchscreen Siri Smart Speaker at WWDC
 

fokmik

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a new bezel less ipad without iOS11 to be released? hard to believe
but i hope for the introduction of the new pencil support for the upcoming macOS and only force trackpad macs compatibility
 

Appleaker

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Jun 13, 2016
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I still no nothing about the speaker other than rumored details, but I'm excited for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
 
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ValO

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a new bezel less ipad without iOS11 to be released? hard to believe
Or they are going to give a preview of IOS 11, with new ipad only features. OR they are going to launch a specific Ipad OS.( PadOS?)
OR they are going to give us new features for this ipad, that doesn' t need an IOS update.
So a new smart keyboard with a trackpad?? And in app trackpad support for text intensive apps?
 

Ted13

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That will be fun keynote to attend: especially for those of us who are iPad fanatics... To me the 9.7" iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil & Logitec keyboard is absolutely fantastic.

I am also hoping for a 4K AppleTV -- if they are announcing the Amazon Prime Video app at the keynote, for sure they will be announcing a new aTV as well.
 

Tapiture

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Oct 1, 2016
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hmmm will be interesting to see what they call the new 10.5 inch iPad. Seems weird that they're presumably introducing a new size to the line before they update the 12.9 even though the 12.9 is what NEEDS an update and not the 9.7. Maybe they're replacing the 12.9 line with the 10.5?
 
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fokmik

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One other thing...

It could be like the :apple: Watch, where it is shown off, and then "it'll be available in October... taking orders on Friday."

That would freeze out their current sales, as well as give Android/Surface time to up their game. I think it's going to be an interesting summer!
Never, it is not a new entirely product like apple watch was, or first ipad iphone etc
 

Dave245

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Sep 15, 2013
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If they are going to do it at WWDC I wonder if it's because of the screen size and developer apps? I find it very strange they will announce an iPad at WWDC but among-Chi-Kuo has been very reliable in the past so I'm willing to at least give this more credit than the usual rumours and threads about the new iPad's coming soon. Maybe they also want to show off some new features like the rumoured being about to link your iPad Pro up to a Mac and use it as a Cintiqi kind of device.
 

JeffyTheQuik

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Never, it is not a new entirely product like apple watch was, or first ipad iphone etc
That's a good point; hence my contradictory sentence after I made the statement.

However, to counter both of our points (actually, my counterpoint), iPad sales are slipping, so it may stave off the competition at the price of their quarter's sales. Wow... I'm truly in a conundrum...:D
 
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