Well, it seems we are perhaps a month or so away from Apple announcing details about the next generation iPad, the iPad 3. Thanks to digitimes, we’ve heard a bunch of rumours about Apple creating a smaller version (7 inches) as well as hearing shortly after that two versions are launching this year… an iPad 3 and iPad 4. Why they keep reporting things like this is not known as it breaks away from iOS devices being launched yearly (or there abouts). Anyway, I thought I’d share some of my “more sensible” thoughts on what the next generation iPad will include and what exactly we will see.
The original iPad was announced on January 27th 2010 and went on sale on 3rd April (WiFi only model). A few weeks later the 3G model launched and about a month after that the iPad launched in the UK and several other countries. The iPad 2 was announced early March 2011 and went on sale just over a week later in the US. The UK and other countries followed a couple of weeks after that.
Apple appears to be aiming for March launches with the iPad, so we expect the iPad 3 will be announced early March and go on sale mid-March as it did last year.
What Apple will bring to the iPad 3?
Apple will be upgrading a number of features on the iPad 3 although exactly what the changes are, I don’t know for sure until Apple make the official announcement. But, I can make quite an educated guess based on how Apple updates it’s products year after year.
- The iPad 3 will run a faster processor, perhaps a quad-core Apple A6 chip. Graphics will also be enhanced. Some reports are hinting at 20x more graphics power. Although that might seem far fetched, it also isn’t that unreasonable to think that.
- The iPad 3 will likely keep the same design as the iPad 2. Some rumours hint at it being marginally thicker although we think Apple will keep it the same as going thicker seems to be more of a backwards step for Apple.
- A Retina display is of course one of the favourites for the iPad 3. We expected to see it in the iPad 2, but perhaps due to lack of processing power and being able to manufacture 9.7 inch Retina displays cheap enough, it didn’t make it. This time around, expect to see a screen with 2,048 x 1,536 (double what the iPad 2 is or four times more pixels).
- The cameras are likely to get an upgrade and perhaps the biggest jump here will be the front facing camera. Apple now has FaceTime on iOS devices and OS X which hints that the iPad 3 will get a higher resolution camera on the front allowing for HD FaceTime calls. Although we expect the new tablet to have a better rear camera, we don’t see it jumping up to iPhone 4S standards just yet as the iPad is not primarily (or really at all), a day to day camera. It’s just too big to use to snap photos with.
- Siri integration: Although Siri is software based, we still think it belongs in the iPad 3 list because of how Apple launched Siri on the iPhone 4S… Although Siri can run on the iPhone 4 and iPad 1 and 2 with some jailbreaking, Apple restricted it to just the iPhone 4S. Apple could go two ways with Siri. First, they could launch it on the iPad 3 as another exclusive for iOS tablets, or the company could open it up for all compatible iOS 5.1 users (iPhone 3GS, 4, iPad 1, 2 and latest generation iPod touches).
- Gorilla Glass 2: Announced at CES 2012, it might be a little late for Apple to put on the front of a new tablet but with the glass being 20% thinner and retaining strength of the original Gorilla Glass, there is a possibility that Apple will take this option.
- Thunderbolt Port: There have been recent rumours that have floated around due to a patent that was found about bringing Thunderbolt to iOS devices. There’s a possibility that this could happen although it is less likely this time around.
I think that’s about it for what the iPad 3 will include. Rumours that are a little too far-fetched for this time around include the lack of a home button, fuel-cell batteries and wireless charging.
What about the September launch of an iPad 4: Digitimes sent a rumour around about the iPad 4 launching in September which will be about 6 months after the launch of the iPad 3. The iPad 4 (or whatever it’s called) was said to be a “Pro” version of the iPad. The problem with this rumour is that it just doesn’t fit with how Apple works. iOS devices typically are launched once a year and usually ever 11 – 13 months apart. There have been some changes to this such as the iPhone 4S being delayed a few months. Apple is unlikely to launch a second iPad in the same year as it breaks away from the simplicity of having a single device launch each year.
I might be alone on this, but I quite like that Apple releases an iPad each year and an iPhone each year. I use both and know roughly when I’ll be upgrading. When I was an Android user there were so many handsets available that I often wondered if that other handset was better than the one I had. Also, as I had older generation Android devices (new at the time), I occasionally found that apps wouldn’t work and had to root and use CyanogenMod to run a later version of Android so that an app was compatible.
Going back to the iPad 3 launch, don’t expect anything too radical. Apple will likely update the processor, screen, cameras and keep the same or similar design this time around. I might be wrong and I welcome your thoughts in the comments below.