Apple Stocks Surge As iPad Pro Launch Draws Near, AR-Themed Tablets Expected

Apple Inc. stocks surged Monday as the company indicated on its app store that the much-awaited iPad Pro range of tablets might be launched soon. The company’s shares closed at a record-breaking $141.46 as the buzz around an early release of the company’s iPad Pro 2 tablet range gained momentum.

The rumors started to surface when the company’s app store shut down from 3 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. EDT for maintenance. At the time of writing, the store was still shut. Adding to the hype, Apple’s website showed a message, “We’ve got something special for you.” The company usually puts up such a message when it is about to launch new products. Also, 8:30 a.m. is usually when the company puts out press releases announcing new products.

Apple is not expected to launch all iPad models Tuesday, however, it is expected to launch the refreshed versions of the 12.9-inch and 9.7-inch models of iPad Pro 2, along with a 128GB iPhone SE and red color models of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Read: Apple Launching 128GB iPhone SE Soon

Since the products expected to be announced are just refreshed versions and new variants of existing devices, the company might not have felt the need for a dedicated event for the aforementioned devices. According to multiple rumors, the company is expected to launch the 10.5-inch iPad Pro 2 and a 7.9-inch iPad Pro Mini (replacing iPad Mini) on April 4 at the inaugural event of its spaceship campus in Apple Park.

Another reason for the stock price increase could be Apple’s expected push into augmented reality (AR). The company’s CEO Tim Cook had indicated his interest in the technology in 2015 and ever since then reports about Apple’s AR ventures kept on emerging. Bloomberg reported Monday that the company has “hundreds of engineers” working on AR technology.

The company is working on reinventing camera technology, according to the report, which says, “One of the features Apple is exploring is the ability to take a picture and then change the depth of the photograph or the depth of specific objects in the picture later; another would isolate an object in the image, such as a person’s head, and allow it to be tilted 180 degrees. A different feature in development would use augmented reality to place virtual effects and objects on a person, much the way Snapchat works.”

Read: Snapchat Spectacles: Price And Where To Buy

The report said that Apple is working on a new product, something that hasn’t been heard about until now -- AR glasses -- similar to Snapchat Spectacles.

“The AR-enhanced glasses are further down the road, the people say. Getting the product right will be key, of course. Wearables are hard…The current crop of AR glasses are either under-powered and flimsy or powerful and overwhelmingly large. Apple, the king of thin and light, will have to leapfrog current products by launching something small and powerful,” it said.