Apple iPad 3 Rumours and Information Round Up

Apple may have just taken the wraps off  the iPad 2 but this hasn’t stopped rumours and information leaking about the Apple iPad 3. We have been covering all the stories as they came to light and thought we’d put together an information/rumours page so you can check up on the latest iPad 3 info in one place.

iPad 3 Release Date

The release date of Apple’s iPad 3 is a hot topic and the one providing most rumours. The first snippet came from John Gruber of Daring Fireball, when talking about the HP Touchpad he said “If my theory is right, they’re [HP] not only going to be months behind the iPad 2, but if they slip until late summer, they might bump up against the release of the iPad 3.” So initial reports put the iPad 3 release date in September.

Since then a few things have changed, first off the horrific natural disaster in Japan has undoubtedly knocked schedules all over the place. Apple is struggling to keep up with iPad 2 demand and this will surely push back the iPad 3 release date (unless it’s the iPad mini – see below). Steve Jobs also named 2011 ‘year of the iPad 2’ – no mention of a sequel in 2011 at least.

If the September release date rumour is accurate then this would likely be in the US with a global rollout coming in October. This puts it well and truly in the silly season, i.e. the time people buy festive gifts – why would Apple bring out another tablet when many consumers have yet to buy one?

All we have to go on at this stage is the above comment, when we have more we will be sure to update this section.

iPad 3 Specifications

This section will be updated with iPad 3 specs as we get them. At the moment we have info on the screen, processor, input ports, NFC, case materials and cloud storage.

Screen/Display

There are a lot of rumours circulating around the iPhone 5; one of them suggests it will come with a widescreen without a bezel. If this is the case then it’s likely the iPad 3 will come with the same technology. A recent report suggested that the iPad 3 could come with a Super AMOLED display; this will offer a higher resolution although still not quite as good as retina.

Apple has been filing a lot of patents surrounding screen technology; 3D patents, multi-gesture controls and multi-section e-ink/retina hybrid screens are all exciting and have a slim chance of being included on the iPad 3.

Update: 15/6/2011

A new line of code in iOS 5 has discovered a screen resolution of 1536×2048. This is the clearest indication of an uprated screen yet and could support the theory that Apple could use a samsung or LG screen in the iPad 3.

Processor

The iPad 2 comes with an all new A5 chip, a dual core processor capable of 1 GHz processing power whilst providing the same efficiency as the older A4 chip. At the moment this is more than man enough to power the iPad 2 and if Apple roll out the iPad 3 in September it will come with the A5, if it comes in 2012 then Apple could possibly come with a more powerful A6 chip.

Input Ports

Many people thought that the iPad 2 could come with an SD slot; this is still on the cards for the iPad 3 but would be the first time Apple has included one on any of their devices. If they do it could be as a reader but probably wouldn’t allow memory expansion as that would wreck their product line.

Another possibility is the addition of Thunderbolt, this high speed data transfer/input port has just been added to the latest Macbook Pro.

Cameras

The iPad 2 came with two cameras which should have been better; Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer has recently revealed a partnership with Apple. He explained in a press conference that they are supplying Apple with their best sensors. These will undoubtedly be for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3.

iOS 5

Apple is expected to unveil iOS 5 at their annual WWDC with a host of new features that always accompanies an operating system overhaul. One of the hottest rumours is a new Music locker and cloud based storage system as part of mobile me. If Apple unveils this at WWDC it would be ready for a September release date.

Body

Apple has made the iPad 2 pretty thin, they will probably shave a little more off the body but not too much – it can’t be too thin because this would compromise usability. The only likely changes would be to weight and use of materials. Apple has just hired a carbon fibre expert who reportedly is working on a number of projects including a new body for the iPad. Apple has previously filed a carbon fibre patent which many thought would be used on the current iPad, it wasn’t which puts it inline for future models.

iPad 3 – will it be a mini?

If Apple is preparing a new iPad for September many feel it will take on a smaller form factor, possibly a 7-inch model to take on the HTC Flyer, Blackberry Playbook and Samsung Galaxy Tab. The only problem with this theory is that Steve Jobs doesn’t like the idea, he said users would have to “sand down their fingers” to use a smaller tablet.

More information will be posted here when we have it, follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep in the loop.