Apple Inc. (AAPL) released a fifth beta of iOS 6.1 over the weekend, followed by the public release on Monday. However, before the final release could even be posted, reports began to suggest that code inside of the beta pointed to signs that AAPL may be looking to release an iOS device with up to 128GB of storage.
The day following the rumors, Apple officially confirmed the availability of a 128GB iPad, which will go on sale on February 5th. Until Tuesday, all of Apple’s iOS devices went up to a capacity of 64GB, including the iPhone 5 which would mean that the storage capacity would double on the iPad.
With more than 120 million iPads sold, it’s clear that customers around the world love their iPads, and everyday they are finding more great reasons to work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs.
As expected, the price for the 128GB iPad will cost more, with a extra $100 on top of current the top-end configuration, meaning that the Wi-Fi models will come in at $799 and the Wi-Fi + Cellular models will be up to $929 dollars. This price is very high for the avaerage consumer, but the 128GB iPad is targeted for users who use a lot of storage for photos, videos, and large apps such as photography applications.
Rumors that Apple was looking to release a 128GB iOS device spread quickly, after the code in an iOS 6.1 beta pointed to such a release. Soon after, the device began showing up in retail databases and is now confirmed by Apple. With every passing year, the cost of flash storage becomes cheaper so 128GB would even be possible on the iPhone in the next few years, if not sooner.
{Via MacRumors}
Advertisement