iPad Maxi

Apple Announces iPad Maxi

The rumors were true. Apple will soon add another iPad model to its tablet portfolio, this one at the high end of the line. The company saidthis morning that come Feb. 5 it will begin offering a 128 gigabyte version of the fourth-generation Retina display iPad it announced last fall.

The new device boasts double the storage capacity of the top-of-the-line iPad that preceded it, and a price to match. The 128GB Wi-Fi-only iPad will set you back $799, while a cellular version creeps up on four figures at $929.

That’s a heady price, but one that’s likely not at all off-putting to the markets for which Apple’s latest iPad is intended: Enterprise, medicine and photography. Apple specifically called out those segments in its press release this morning, noting as well that the iPad is being used in “virtually all” Fortune 500 companies, and in more than 85 percent of Global 500 companies. Is it coincidence that the 128GB iPad arrives at market about the same time that Microsoft begins shipping its Surface Pro, which starts out at $899 for 64 GB model? Doubtful.

Today’s 128GB iPad announcement represents another marked shift from Apple’s typical iPad release cycle. Rather than rolling out one big update to the device annually, the company is now making incremental updates to it as it sees fit — just as it would to its Mac line. On that note, the largest iPad now has the same storage as the base model 13-inch MacBook Air …