Will the next iPad launch involve a 12-inch number aimed at enterprise customers? Evercore Partners analyst Patrick Wang believes so, predicting Apple will release the larger device by Q3 2014. 

"Arriving in fall 2014, Apple goes enterprise with an 12-inch iPad," Wang writes in a research note. "Powered by the A8 chip (perhaps 4C), this expands ARM’s reach and, once again, transforms the traditional notebook market as we know it."

Wang describes to s-called "iPad Pro" as a "hybrid" device ("think iPad + MBA") similar to the Microsoft Surface. Currently iPads feature either 9.7- or 7.9-inch displays. 

The note even gives a bill-of-materials estimate for such a device. Apprently the latest A-series chips are powerful enough to handle demanding applications and cost less than the Intel processors used in the MacBook Air, meaning Apple has a potential edge in the enterprise notebook market. 

However Wang also points out two obstacles for Apple's enterprise offering-- storage capacity (iPads feature only up to 128GB) and the lack of an iOS version of Microsoft Office. 

Go Apple 12-inch Enterprise iPad to Challenge Intel Predicts Evercore (Barron's Tech Trader Daily)