Gizmodo: 10, 13, 15-inch Mac OSX tablets coming

Seth Weintraub
|
August 28, 2009
|
Share

Gizmodo has a pretty big one this morning.  They claim that Apple is not only building the often talked about 10-inch tablet, but they are also developing much bigger tablets in 13 and 15-inch varieties.  These tablets are clad in aluminum but in the shape of very large iPhones (gen 1?). 

The machines were spotted in a factory in China (not Foxconn) and their source wasn't sure how far these were along. One could speculate that if they are in China they are being fitted for production.  Their source said the company where they were spotted had a tight relationship with Apple.  Quanta has been the rumored manufacturer of Apple touch screen tablet products for months.

At least one of these tablets was running OSX (10.5) Leopard.

Oh, and Gizmodo says this source has always been 100% reliable up until this point so it is likely a good tip.

 

Comments (33)

9to5Mac Nooblet (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 5:50am

YES PLEASE!!! I forget who mentioned something like this (Maybe Andy on Macbreak Weekly?), but what about a tablet running 10.6 that can also (just like a regular Mac) emulate the iphone? You would have a full computing experience while still being able to run your iphone games an apps. That would be pretty slick and just wonderful for traveling.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:34am

The iPhone emulator supplied with the SDK only runs apps compiled for Intel platform, not apps compiled in final version for the iPhone's ARM platform. iPhone devs would have to start releasing apps in the equivalent of a Universal binary.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 5:55am

Can't wait to surf with it on the couch

RCGA | August 28, 2009 - 6:12am

A 15" tablet? Uggg, you might as well just buy a laptop. You're not saving any space.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 6:29am

Yakty yak, Yakty yak.

BlindMind3 (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 6:43am

don't talk back

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 6:44am

i know for reals, debbie downer

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 6:46am

GIVE IT TO ME, NOW............
NEEDED FOR MY LIVING ROOM AT THE WALL

Canada Chas (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 6:59am

I think that the tablet will replace the macbook line. Not the macbook pro line, just the macbook line.

Ultra thin, ultra fast touchscreen tablet

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 7:07am

Apple isn't going to get rid of the White MacBook anytime soon. If anything, it will be redesigned, but that's it.

Olternaut (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 7:07am

I'm kinda surprised at this frankly. I welcome it though. Although, I wouldn't be surprised that those larger sizes turn out to be just prototypes that won't see production.

Jonah Reynolds (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 7:34am

this is the future really. laptops will ultimately be phased out, tablets are the future. so it is inevitable. tablets will become the most preferred device, more than the iphone. the tablet will become the centerpiece of our data/information/communications. the iphone will move to a little ear bud and mic on a lapel.

I am glad apple is being patient with this. Apple will sell more tablets than any other device. The tablet will move Apple into industry. but apple stock now!

the Cappy (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 8:03am

The keyboard has its inconveniences, but it still represents an incredibly fast way to transfer text from your brain to a computer. It's much faster than handwriting. It's much more reliable than voice recognition.

Handwriting isn't going to get faster, since the bottleneck is ultimately on the human end.

Voice recognition CAN get more accurate. But it doesn't seem to be anything Apple is pushing toward. Even if voice recognition gets more accurate, imagine 20 people in a conference room taking notes. Are they gonna use voice? Maybe they'll hand-write. Many will prefer to type.

The virtual keyboard on an iPhone is a great interface for a phone-sized screen, where real estate is so very precious, and the ability to change from one style of keyboard to another is an incredible boon... but vs a full sized keyboard, it will be very hard to match that with a virtual keyboard. PLUS the keyboard will take up part of your screen.

These are the problems that must be resolved for Jobs & Co to deem a tablet ready for prime time. Just saying it's the future & ignoring the very real form factor limitations of tablets gets us nowhere.

richsadams (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:18am

Agreed that a 13" tablet would be terrific, can't wait. I also agree that it needs to have a (wireless?) "real" keyboard option (monitor too).

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:13am

I can imagine a 13 or 15 inch tablet would be very good in a place like a kitchen.

I would mount it, then it can serve video, act as the control to iTunes serving music i the kitchen. It can become a quick point of reference for weather, news, recipes etc.

No need for a keyboard to get in the way, just use the touch screen....

Krreagan (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:33am

I hate the thought that a tablet would be running iPhoneOS!

Something like that surly can handle SL... On that same thought... I was thinking that perhaps one of the reasons why Apple spent time getting SL so optimized was because they planned on putting it on a tablet with one of their new (PA Semi) processors. Putting an iPhoneOS on something like this seems to be a waste! they would need a completely new development package to accommodate the "big" form factor while this would be much easier to do on a system that was designed to handle varying sizes of displays, ie OSX.

just a thought.
KRR

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:38am

Apple, if turned loose onto the idea, could also do a great whiteboard.

Market depth would be the issue, but build one good enough, and twice as many will buy it.

I'm interested in what Apple could identify in the CE space that could do with a little of their secret sauce makeover.
What's next. Right now, I'd say it is cameras right now. I wonder what Apple could do to a Nikon D300.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 9:57am

I am thinking (hoping) that the larger versions, if they materialize, will have some sort of stylus. I can see the smaller version (10") being multi-touch only but the larger version would certainly benefit from having the ability to use a stylus.

Everyone is so focused on whether or not you can use a keyboard (I am thinking that you most certainly will be able to use one of the existing Apple wireless keyboards) but no one mentions using a stylus. There are many applications where writing is still the preferred method of input (class notes, doodles, etc.)- I know that this is what I have been looking for.

-J

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 10:11am

I wonder if I would be allowed to use one of these for my engineering major at VT? Right now I have to use this crummy tablet that runs wincrap, and I hate it soooo much.

Mark Sigal (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 10:14am

My thesis all along has been that Snow Leopard is the pivot OS between the iPhoneOS and MacOS, branches, and whether that means the ability to run Mac Apps unmodified, recompiled or some new form of new hybrid runtime model, it just makes sense that the Tablet is where Apple confronts the matrix between all of these different form factors, something that I blogged about in:

Apple, the ‘Boomer’ Tablet and the Matrix
http://bit.ly/46CtH

Check it out if interested.

Mark

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 10:30am

I am thinking something similar. SL has a smaller footprint, is more efficient in many ways, etc.- there's more to SL than what we know at this point. And, why did they release it early? Besides the extra day of free press, I am thinking that there is some reason they released it early that may surprise us.

We'll have to wait and see.

-J

For stylus fans... (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 10:46am

@J:

There are styluses (styli ?) that work on the iPhone/iPod Touch already: pogo stylus. Never fear.

9to5Mac Noobisch (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 11:24am

Now with Snow Leopard fully supporting Exchange I can see this tablet going to be a big hit with corporate users. I could see this thing carried around with medical staff etc etc. Remember the presention on monitoring patients with the iPhone?

Olternaut (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 12:25pm

Didn't you read the subject? Gimme all of them.....all of the sizes now!!!!!

Ejicon (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 12:44pm

best bet is to purchase a mac book air if your going to go for a 13 inch tablet.

Jimne (not verified) | August 29, 2009 - 2:43pm

Yeah, I agree with you. Online Attorney

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 28, 2009 - 2:09pm

i'm sure the tablet will be great. but it will be a different beast when compared to a laptop. will the tablet have a stand? how exactly do you hold it in your hands? it seems to me that any device where the user has to use their hands to support a decent viewing angle will be bad for intensive input (i.e. a lot of writing). if you were writing a novel. or a blog. or designing a website, wouldn't you rather have both hands free? yes you could use a wireless keyboard. but then why not get a neat device that opens up and has a self supported screen on one half and a keyboard on the other - which i already have in my my macbook. seems to me that the tablet would be more for interacting, browsing and 'sketching'. a solid state, portable and sturdy device for gleaning information from the net and casual input to the net. it'll still be way cool though. and would probably have some sort of simplified cut down OS.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 29, 2009 - 12:17am

I can't wait to sit on one, on the couch!
LOL.

labrats5 (not verified) | August 29, 2009 - 9:21am

I'm using a laptop. On a couch. right now. I don't need to support the screen with my hands, so both of them are free to type, which I am quickly doing with my full hardware keyboard. What are tablets good for again?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | August 29, 2009 - 11:38am

I don't need no stink'n keyboard. Dump 80+/- mechanical switches, my need for data input is very small. Emails and comments like this are easy on a screen keyboard. Meeting or conference room notes, fu*k that, review the video.