Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been quiet on the device front in 2013, having not introduced any new devices or any upgrades to existing devices as of yet, with apparently no plans to do so until after the autumnal equinox – at least according to CEO Tim Cook (though there have been rumblings about something coming on-line in August). Going nearly a year between product introductions is a bit unusual for Apple these days, and it has seemed to cause a bit of consternation among analysts and investors.<
But it has also seemed to raise expectations for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), not lower them. As Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) and Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) have been very active in introducing their new flagship devices this year, and companies like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) are putting out their new flagship devices already while Apple sits on the sidelines, the Apple bears seem to be coming out of hibernation.
But with this silence out of Cupertino, there seems to be some expectation that “if” and when Apple does put out new devices, they can’t just produce numbers like other devices – if they don’t set records, the stock market will punish the company.
So much for being thrilled to even see something new. For Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) it will likely be a “Go big or go home” approach in terms of the innovation on the new devices and the overall sales of said devices. But what if Apple is looking to take that mantra literally?
Cook has said in the past that the company would love to make devices with larger screens, but the company wasn’t going to do just to do it; he said the company will consider it as long as it does not compromise quality of the display for the size, as he basically inferred other companies currently do. If the latest rumor is true – and if you consider the Wall Street Journal credible – then perhaps Apple may have insight to creating bigger displays after all.
As the push for larger displays gets ever-more popular in the consumer-verse, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems poised to join the party. There is talk swirling that Apple has requested its supply chain to start working on larger displays for iPhone and iPad devices, with a new iPhone display being rumored to be anywhere from 4.7 inches to a hefty 5.7 inches, while the company seems to be working on an iPad model that would boast something close to a 13-inch screen, which puts it on par with a MacBook Air. Might either of these become a reality?
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), like many other companies, is known for trying out a lot of new ideas yet only allowing a small percentage of those ideas to find their way into the marketplace, much less the pipleline. So while it is too early to say for sure that Apple will have larger devices coming out in 2014, it can be interesting to note that if Apple thoguht for one second that this was a bad idea, then the company wouldn’t be investing much time or money into trying to produce these displays. So do you think it is a safe bet that at least one of these devices will make it to market?
If so, which one is your money on, if you could only choose one? And if you are an investor like fund manager David Einhorn (see his full equity portfolio), would you want to see this larger device in the marketplace, or are you concerned about the sales numbers on existing products and updates? We would love your feedback in the comments section below.
DISCLOSURE: None