The hype in the blogosphere regarding the imminent unveiling of the next iPad revision is reaching critical mass. Loyal Apple fans and average tablet consumers alike are eager to hear what will be offered in the new tablet, and when they can get their hands on it. In this article we’ll take a look at just a few of the rumors making their way around the net.
Release Date:
The iPad 3 is expected to make its debut early this year. The most prominent rumor being that we’ll see an announcement from Apple by the end of March. However, some speculate that a more likely date is February 24, which would coincide with the birthday of the late Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs. Apple are expected to have a press announcement in late January regarding iBooks, publishing, and their ilk, and so information pertaining to new products isn’t expected until February at the earliest.
Additionally, DigiTimes suggests that a second revision, an iPad 4, will be available in October. This rumor, however, has been greeted with a great deal of skepticism.
Specifications
The most notable hardware improvement that just about every rumor seems to agree upon is the inclusion of a high definition retina display similar to those of the 2010 iPhone 4 and the 2011 iPhone 4S. The display is expected to have a resolution of 1536×2048 pixels.
However, many also speculate that the iPad 2 will continue to be sold perhaps as-is, or with minor revisions and adopting the iPad 2S nomenclature used by Apple for its iPhone product line. This lower end iPad 2/iPad 2S is expected to drop in price from $499 for the base, 16GB wifi only model to $299 – $399 for the same model in an effort to compete with lower end, more inexpensive Android tablets available on the market already.
As for the processor, it is widely believe that the iPad 3 will pack the power of a new A6 chip from Apple. The iPad 2 and iPhone 4S carry Apples A5 chip, while the iPhone 4 uses the A4 chip found in the original, 2010 iPad model.
Camera
The iPad 2 is the first iPad model to sport not one, but two cameras. One rear-facing 5 (correction, 0.7) megapixel camera, and one front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime video chat. Speculation around the net suggests that the next iPad will bump that up a notch and have an 8MP camera similar to that of the iPhone 4S on the back, and a 5MP on the front for FaceTime.
iOS
iOS 5, which made its debut alongside the iPhone 4S last October, is expected to be upgraded to iOS 5.1 before the announcement of a new iPad model. Many iOS 5 users have complained of poorer battery life over iOS 4.3. Apple have acknowledged that some bugs remain in iOS which cause the decrease in battery performance, but as of the latest iOS 5.1 developer builds have not eliminated the problem.
iPad 3 is certainly around the corner and so hype is building fast. As more information becomes available we will be sure to update you all here!
9 Responses to “iPad 3 / iPad 2S Rumor Roundup”
but do we need another one?
wow!
DigiTimes’s rumors are very hit and miss. Their recent peddling of chaff only goes to discredit them even further.
The likelihood of an iPod 4 being released in October (5 or 6 months after the anticipated iPad 3) is preposterous. iPhone 5 by October? Sure – that’s pretty much expected.
I meant to say iPad 4 – not iPod 4. Duh!
The iPad 2′s back camera is not 5 megapixels it is 0.7 megapixels. Also, some of these rumours are preposterous. Why would anyone need a 5 megapixel frontal camera, a good 1.5 – 2.5 megapixel camera can capture all the detail required in terms of stills because one’s face is very close to the camera. I am really hoping for a better back camera with sufficient aperature to capture more light. I believe the PowerVR SGX 543 (the single core variant) has the ability to support a 10″ retina display (1536×2048 pixels), and the next generations iPad is likely going to use a multicore GPU configuration (I am guessing this because the iPad uses a dual core SGX GPU.
Im gonna wait to see what the Ipad 3 is all about before I buy one or if Android Tablet that is release to compete against it around the same time if it is better than I will buy if not Ipad 3
As far as I’ve read and know about my iPad two the camera is not 5.0 megapixels at all. The rear camera on the iPad 2 comes in at less than one megapixel. 0.7 to be exact I believe.
Will we’ see a new iPod touch with at least an A5 chip?
I don’t think we need another iPad. I mean what else could we add to the current version? Yes a better camera and maybe faster browsing and retina display. These few new features won’t make me upgrade my iPad. I’m not spending 500-600€ on a better camera and faster browsing.