OK – lets start off with a tip. If you are planning to buy an iPad, you might want to wait a few weeks.
According to AllThingsD, Apple is planning to announce the iPad 3 in the first week of March 2012. In the past this meant that the device will land in US stores about a week after that, and other territories about 2 months later. In 2011 South Africa didn’t have to wait too long to get the iPad 2, so hopefully it will be the same with the iPad 3. Apple does not typically deviate from their release cycle when it comes to iOS devices (except with the iPhone 4S), so this is one rumour that will probably turn out to be true.
So what will be new in the iPad 3? Is it worth waiting for? Seeing as the iPad 2 was not a massive update from the iPad 1 (slightly faster, thinner and cameras added, see our review here), the iPad 3 might be a bigger update than expected. Also, Apple does not seem to increase prices with new models, so it might be well worth your while. Here are some of the changes you can expect:
Retina Display: After the iPhone 4 came out with its brilliant Retina display, the iPad’s display felt decidedly lacklustre. When one becomes used to the incredible pixel density of the iPhone, the resolution on the iPad seems a little weak. Rumour has it that the iPad 3 will ship with an incredible 2048 x 1536 10.1 inch display. Think about that for a second – a Full HD television currently only has 1920 x 1080 pixels. This will really make iPad’s display great to view. Things like textbooks and web pages will look even better. Not even to mention games. The new resolution is also a logical update for iPad developers – it is an exact 4x increase, so “older” iPad apps would run perfectly on it.
Apple A6 processor: This is pretty obvious. The iPad 3 will be faster – and there is a lot of need for it. The latest software releases could use a little extra speed when used on the iPad 2, especially apps like the iBooks textbooks, and the latest games. We reckon most attention would go to the graphics portion of the system-on-a-chip – which most probably be called Apple A6. After all, that much hoped for resolution bump will need all the power it can get. The iPad 2 moved to a dual core CPU, but we will only see whether the iPad 3 will need quad core power. You can expect a jump in memory though – the iPad 2’s 512MB of RAM might become a little anemic with Retina graphics.
Siri: The iPhone 4S’s standout feature ought to make a showing on the iPad 3 as well – after all, it is clear that Apple is punting Siri very hard. It would only make sense for them to expand it to other devices than the iPhone. If Apple ever decides to roll out Siri’s API for app developers, it would be brilliant on the iPad. For example – “Create a Evernote Note”, and the device will fire up Evernote with a note ready.
Shape and Size: This is one thing where we dont count on a lot of changes. Apple has been very smart in keeping the basic design of the iPad very similiar in iPad 1 and 2. They seem pretty set on the 10 inch screen size. Hopefully they will do the same with the iPad 3. These days Apple seems to be very content with sticking with a particular design for a while – just look at the iPhone 4S and 3GS, also their entire Mac range. But one issue still remains with the iPad – it is a lot heavier than using a dedicated E-book reader like the Kindle for longer reading sessions. It might make sense for Apple to shift to a carbon fibre or kevlar rear in the future. Recently found images of the iPad 3 casing seem to suggest that Apple will stick with its current aluminium casing however.
Camera: One thing is true – the camera on the iPad 2 sucks. In fact, I hardly ever use it – it is basically just good enough for taking a snap of a document or a board. But that might be the idea – not a lot of people need to use a tablet to take full quality photos. But it would make sense for Apple to shift the front facing camera on the iPad 3 – most of their laptops have switched to “Facetime HD” cameras, and many people would agree that the iPad is pretty great for video calls, be it Facetime or Skype.
Other updates: Apple will probably ship the iPad 3 with GSM and CDMA compatibility, like they did with iPhone 4s. Faster internet through LTE might also be possible, but the technology is still pretty much a battery hog now.
Right now the iPad is the world’s best selling tablet – and with good reason. While Android tablets have eventually trumped the iPad 2 when it comes to specs, none of them have seemed to take away its market share. Even in South Korea, the iPad sells better than the Samsung Galaxy tablets. But all of this competition is great for the consumer – eventually Apple will have to face the onslaught of ever improving Android tablets.
If it was up to you – what would you like to see in the iPad 3?
Resolution Image Source: Gawker
