Apple is likely to delay the rumoured 13-inch iPad Pro release date this 2014 and to cushion the impact of an extended waiting time, the tech giant is offering a temporary alternative - the iPad 4 re-intro.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo has forecasted in his latest note that the iPad Pro production this year will encounter production glitches that could lead to a rollout push back or worst, Apple would be forced to move the device's launch date to early 2015.

It is possible too that the large-screen iPad Pro would see the light of the day later in the year but supply stability will be a big question mark, Kuo was reported by MacRumors as saying. Again, the cause would be production issues that likely will not be resolved in time for a late 2014 release target, the analyst added.

In between efforts to produce the enterprise-geared iPad Pro this year, Kuo predicted that the iPad maker is set to resume production of the fourth generation iPad in the first quarter of 2014. Recall that the iPad 4 was replaced by the iPad Air when the latter was launched in October 2013.

While there was no mention on the report if the iPad 4 re-launch involves specs and features enhancement, the move is assumed as a gap-filler for Apple, to give it breathing space as the company reconfigures its iPad business model to the 2014 settings.

Take note that in the same report from KGI, Kuo boldly projected that Apple will delay the issuance of the iPad Mini 3, pointing to the weak shipment figures of the smaller iOS tablet as the moving force behind the decision.

It appears that the fifth-gen iPad, which is the iPad Air, has regained its sex appeal and is now more profitable compared even to the Retina-boasting iPad Mini. That is why Apple has decided to focus its attention to the iPad Air's second coming in 2014, the KGI report seems to suggest.

Meanwhile, even as the iPad Pro debut this year remains in limbo, Italy's SET Solution has decided to go ahead with a render that according to BGR will likely stay as a mere visualisation. A YouTube clip of the concept is viewable here.

What is exciting about this iPad Pro take form the Italian consultancy firm is the melding of functions and features that are native to Apple's mobile platform, the iOS, and conventional computing platform, the OS X.

However, while the rendition is definitely cool, the likelihood of it actually happening is quite remote, BGR said on its report, adding that Apple is cold on suggestions that iOS and OS X would run on commercially available devices.

Such undertaking is just a waste of energy, the iPad maker reportedly declared.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is set to tussle with Samsung's Galaxy Tab Pro and Galaxy Note Pro, is initially rumoured for a late 2014 release date but in light of KGI's new assessment, the unveiling should reset for Q1 2015.