Rumor: Apple Selects iWatch, 12-Inch iPad Supplier

has reportedly hired

to build two new products. According to

, Quanta will build the

and the

for Apple. Neither product has been confirmed, but Apple has been rumored to be developing both products for several months. Those rumors appeared to have inspired

, Apple's chief competitor, to take preemptive action. The South Korean tech giant has already released its

, Galaxy Gear. The company is also rumored to be developing a

. The DigiTimes report claims that Samsung is still developing the tablet despite the loss of a massive partner. Samsung had planned to build the device with

, but Google has decided to focus on smaller tablets instead. This left Samsung without a partner, but not without the desire to compete with Apple at every turn. While most of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C

turned out to be true, there is no guarantee that Apple is actually building a smart watch or a larger-size tablet. In fact, the iWatch could turn out to be a clever codename for the company's

.

Earlier this year, millions of consumers chose to purchase the iPad Mini

. Why would Apple invest in developing, manufacturing, shipping and promoting a 12-inch tablet if consumers prefer the 7.9-inch format? DigiTimes' sources are worried that 12-inch tablets will hurt the laptop market, but that is a non-issue. Existing tablets are already impacting notebook sales. This is what happens as technology evolves: eventually, the oldest dinosaurs get replaced. There was a time when the computer market was led by desktop PCs. After notebooks reduced the gap in power (and became lighter and easier to carry), desktop PC sales fell and notebook sales increased. Now tablets are destined to take over. There will still be a market for notebooks, but instead of buying a PC to surf the Web and check e-mail, consumers may now choose a tablet. Disclosure: