iPad 3 rumor roundup: specs, launch date, and more

The just-announced new iPad will be offered in an LTE version, marking the first time that Apple has offered a true 4G-enabled product. Of course, LTE support requires carrier partners with LTE networks, and both Verizon and AT&T are predictably on board — both with their own versions of the device (they've got different LTE networks that use different bands). In Canada, Rogers, Bell, and Telus will be offering it as well.

Of course, there'll be 3G fallback for when you need it; LTE is still in fairly limited deployment, so this'll be the primary mode for many users. On HSPA+, the new model supports both 21Mbps and 42Mbps dual-carrier modes — no slouch, needless to say.

It would certainly make sense to us — an off-contract iPhone 4S is right in the middle of the iPad's price banding, meaning that a broken tablet wouldn't cost the company much (if any) more to replace. Furthermore, the larger device is less likely to be taken out of the house, meaning it's probably less likely to get broken in the first place. There's only one way to know for sure, and while we don't necessarily think this is the sort of thing to get mentioned in Apple's keynote, it's not long before we'll find out all the news to come out of Cupertino.

When Tim Cook takes the stage tomorrow in San Francisco, a new iPad apparently won't be the only product announced. As we reported last week, a new Apple TV model is expected to arrive alongside the higher-resolution iPad update. We're told that the forthcoming Apple TV (the product is said to likely carry the same name as its predecessor) will have 1080p capabilities, and will work in conjunction with the iPad and other Apple devices to deliver new video streaming / mirroring functionality (which will also fall inline with new Mountain Lion features).

According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple will update both the new Apple TV and the iPad 3 (or iPad HD, a name we first unearthed last year) not with the rumored, quad-core A6 system-on-a-chip, but rather the A5X, a dual-core SoC said to have a more powerful GPU. From what we're hearing, it's basically an A5 on steroids.

You're interested in the new iPad, right? Of course you are. Why else would you be reading this? Well guess what? The Verge is going to be covering the unveiling of the next version of Apple's hit slate Wednesday, March 7th, 2012, starting at 10:00AM PST. And you're invited.

We'll have up-to-the-minute news, photos, and more from the event in San Francisco, so you can feel like you're actually there even though you're not. Or are you? No, you're not.

We all know Apple's having a big event next week in which the company is expected to roll out the next-generation iPad, and all the signs point to the device having a 2048 x 1536 resolution. What we're not expecting to see is the next version of Apple's mobile operating system, but Ars Technica has uncovered some evidence that iOS 6 is at least in the testing phases on a next-generation iPad running at an increased resolution. While combing through its server logs, Ars found evidence of 346 visits to the site from a device running at the new iPad's rumored display resolution — and a number of those visits came from a device running iOS 6. It also saw evidence of devices running the long-awaited iOS 5.1 update and the current 5.0.1 iteration, but the devices running iOS 6 also had a newer version of webpage rendering software WebKit.

Furthermore, this traffic appeared to be coming from Apple's corporate IP block in Cupertino, indicating that these tests are coming straight from Apple, rather than testers in the field. While we certainly don't expect the next iPad to be running iOS 6 when it launches (this would be a major break from the yearly release cycle that Apple has generally stuck to for iOS), it's another bit of evidence that a retina-resolution iPad is likely on the way, and that Apple's testing its next major update with this new screen resolution.

This follows on the heels of reports of new Apple TV SKUs appearing in Best Buy databases, as well as news this week that Apple has been forging ahead with plans to partner on new TV services. According to the New York Post, Apple's VP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue is in deep talks with content-creators and distributors trying to hammer out a deal that will please all sides. Those deals are rumored to be announced around the 2012 holiday season.

The idea that a new Apple TV will be available on day of Apple's San Francisco event lines up with what 9to5 Mac was recently reporting, and gels nicely with rumors we've heard that the iPad 3 (or iPad HD, depending on who you talk to) will also be made available not long after its introduction. Historically Apple has shortened the length of time to availability as a product line matures, and there's no reason to think that won't be the case here.

It's like clockwork, really. When an updated Apple product looms on the horizon, prices for last year's model begin to plummet. The iPad 3 hasn't even been made official yet, and retailers are already taking some proactive steps to clear out inventory of its predecessor. Case in point: RadioShack. An internal company document provided to Engadget reveals that starting today, all iPad 2 models are seeing discounts between $20 and $50. The retailer's website confirms that the 16GB Wi-Fi configuration has been reduced by $20, with all other models receiving a $50 cut. Best Buy has also joined in on the fun, shaving $50 off all iPad 2 hardware this week (including the aforementioned base SKU). While Best Buy's rates are only temporary, all indications are that the new prices at RadioShack are permanent drops.

Still, we might recommend a bit more patience if you're looking for maximum savings on last year's Apple tablet. Retailers are likely to lower their asking price even further after the iPad 3's full reveal. For example, AT&T was unloading clearance 64GB Wi-Fi + 3G first-generation iPads for only $529 last March — that's $300 less than the original MSRP. You've gone this long without an iPad, after all. What's another few weeks?

As you can see in the image above, that's no regular iPad display. It appears to be a higher resolution than the iPad or iPad 2. Also, the casing of the product pictured looks darker than current iPad models. It's hard to say if that's a trick of lighting or not.

P.S. Yes, of course we're upset about our magical February 29th leap day theory not working out.

A new quad-core iPad is set to launch at an event next week, according to CNBC's sources. The iPad 3, we're told, will feature LTE connectivity and get its unveiling at an event in New York City next week. This meshes with the things we've heard about the tablet's release schedule so far, and the idea of it including LTE was also recently floated by The Wall Street Journal. Whether it's quad-core or dual-core remains a topic of debate, but whatever the final spec sheet, it's starting to look like a certainty that Apple will have a new member of its tablet device family within the next few days.

As rumors keep swirling about whether Apple's planning a dual- or quad-core chip for its upcoming iPad 3, new reports suggest the company may actually be working on both. As we reported last week, the part number scheme used for Apple's A4 and A5 indicate that an A6 chip would likely have the number S5L8950X, and not the S5L8945X reported to be in the next-generation tablet. Well, 9to5Mac reports that the newest beta build of iOS 5.1 actually includes references to the 50X and 45X, supporting the idea that Apple is actually working on two new SoCs. Why do they need two? 9to5 speculates that Apple might have simply tested two chips before deciding which one to go with, or it could be planning to offer two tiers of processor in its next iPad. Could one of the chips be for the rumored 8-inch iPad? We'll have to wait till March to find out.

We've seen some images of the interior of Apple's iPad 3 casing design, and now what appear to be photos of the exterior are making the rounds, courtesy of M.I.C. Gadget. The design doesn't stray too far from iPad 2 territory, but it is noticeably thicker (presumably to accommodate LTE), with a more tapered shape. Although the angle presented in these images makes the difference in thickness seem quite stark, most rumors we've seen suggest the change will only be a matter of a millimeter or two.

Additionally, MacRumors found a posting at WeiPhone purporting to show the logic board for the iPad 3. The most interesting part is the large "A5X" label on the main chip. While some were expecting the new SoC to be named the A6, A5X would fit in with Apple's pattern of incrementally improving a product before advancing the model number: Leopard to Snow Leopard, iPhone 3G to 3GS and 4 to 4S, and now Lion to Mountain Lion, for example. The A5X number, as well as the incremental step in actual part numbers, has led many to speculate that there could be a dual-core chip inside instead of a quad-core chip. That would match up with intel we heard some time ago, however it's also entirely possible that this is a prototype board and that the widely-rumored quad-core A6 chip is still in the works. Luckily, with a rumored release date of March 7th, we shouldn't have much longer to wait until it all comes clear.

We've been following the tale of Apple's "super high resolution" iPad since before The Verge was born, but now it seems we have our first proof of a real QXGA Retina Display for a 4:3 tablet. MacRumors got hold of a purported iPad 3 screen and put it under the microscope, and sure enough: despite having the same 9.7-inch diagonal screen size as the existing iPad and iPad 2, the new display appears to have four times the pixels. Now, we can't be sure that this screen is really going to be inserted into an iPad 3, but yesterday we weren't sure it existed at all. Today, we can say that a 9.7-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio, 2048 x 1536 LCD display is actually being produced somewhere in the world.

Earlier today we saw the announcement date for the iPad 3 rumored for March 7th, which lines up with earlier rumors of the first week in March.

While parts for the iPad 3 have been trickling out for some time now, the exact specs for the tablet are not yet entirely clear. It seems evident that the iPad 3 will have a 2048 x 1536 display, a beefed-up GPU and an A6 processor, which may or may not be quad-core. Regardless, the bigger question is whether or not the iPad 3 will feature an LTE radio for 4G speeds — and unfortunately the jury is still out on that. Either way, if the March 7th date holds up, we won't have to wait too long for official word.

With a steady drip of possible iPad 3 components leaking out, iLab has gotten hold of a back casing, 30-pin dock connector and a Sharp panel said to have an QXGA resolution which are all rumored to be a part of Apple's next tablet. The Japanese repair shop showed off the Sharp display last week, saying it had a 2048 x 1536 resolution which would give the new tablet a pixel density of 264ppi — not quite the 330ppi of the iPhone 4's Retina Display, but still a dramatic step up over the iPad and iPad 2.

The site has combined the screen with an alleged new back casing and a newly-designed dock connector, and found that each of the components fits together perfectly, lending some credence to each of the components being destined for the tablet. Besides the moved screwposts, the new backcase has a totally different camera hole, as shown in the image above. We're sure that once the new iPad's released, it won't take long before someone tears it down and discovers whether or not these components are production models or simply prototypes.

The iPad 3 rumors are starting to fly fast and furious — in the last day, we've seen a variety of alleged case shots leak out and heard that it should launch the first week of March. Now, Cult of Mac has gotten its hands on photos of what they claim are the iPad 3's case design as well as some internal components like the sleep / wake button, mute switch and volume rocker. These images show the iPad 3's case in much more detail than those that leaked out yesterday, but otherwise look identical, reinforcing what our sources have told us — the iPad 3 will look largely the same as its predecessor. As for those pictured internals, the biggest change that Cult of Mac sees is a redesign to the Wi-Fi components, but of course there weren't any photos of the rumored high-resolution display, battery, or rumored A6 processor. Whether from a leak or official source, it shouldn't be long before we find out more on Apple's next tablet.

Apple's going to host a launch event for the iPad 3 in the first week of March, according to sources familiar with the company's plans, as reported by All Things D. San Francisco is the location of the event, but there's no date yet for when the upgraded tablet will be available to buy. This information meshes with the intel that we've been receiving about the iPad 3's launch, placing it around the beginning of next month. If Apple keeps to the same cadence as with the iPad 2, you can expect to see the iPad 3 on sale within two weeks of its announcement.

The specs, according to All Things D's sources, are "pretty much" what has been reported from leaks and rumors up to this point, including a form factor not too dissimilar to the iPad 2 and an eye-watering 2048 x 1536 Retina Display resolution. The processor is reputedly "much faster" than on the iPad 2, but there's no count of how many cores it has — our own latest information indicates Apple will stick with a dual-core setup.

According to people familiar with the product, though the new iPad will be touting that double resolution display — a true iPad Retina Display, clocking in at 2048 x 1536 — the device will be nearly physically identical to its predecessor, but the slate will be about one millimeter thicker overall. We're also told that the A6 CPU the iPad 3 is likely to sport will include a significantly more powerful GPU — no big surprise there. What is surprising, however, is that our sources say that the A6 will not be a quad-core chip, but will remain dual-core. We've previously heard that the device would have a quad-core CPU as well as an LTE cell radio on-board, but at least part of that story wasn't accurate.

As far as timing goes, everything we've heard thus far suggests that a February announcement is not happening. Last year, Apple released its iPad 2 in early March — just in time to sell loads of the device to highly-talkative South By Southwest Interactive revelers via a pop-up shop... and we wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat performance in 2012. Luckily, that 12 month mark is just around the corner, and Apple is known to be fairly punctual.

BGR has obtained a number of images said to be taken of output from iBoot, Apple's iDevice bootloader, running in debug mode on an iPad 3 — and in debug mode, you're able to see some detail on the hardware running underneath. Notably, the processor is identified as model number S5L8945X, which is new — it's apparently a quad-core Apple A6, which is exactly what everyone is expecting: we saw the single-core A4 in 2010 and the dual-core A5 last year, and a variety of tablet and smartphone makers will be launching quad-core devices on hardware from TI, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and others in 2012.

Our own sources are telling us that BGR's information is spot on — and we've heard the LTE bit before — so we think there's a high likelihood that this is exactly the two-device combo we'll be seeing at Apple's next event. That event could come at any time now; the iPad 2 debuted in early March of last year.

Fresh instances that reference "J2" hardware in Apple's latest iOS 5.1 source code have been discovered. iMore published details of its findings alongside additional mentions of a J1 device, both are thought to be codenames for two prototype tablets that Apple is currently testing. A DigiTimes report in November suggested that the J1 and J2 include 2048x1536 displays, and references to the codenames were discovered in the original iOS 5 firmware.

iOS 5.1 beta 3 also includes mentions of Facebook. It's not clear whether this is simply legacy code or a hint that Apple could be closer to integrating Facebook into the core operating system. There's been persistent rumors that iOS will include Facebook integration, but no solid proof that it's under development. Apple opted to include Twitter integration in iOS 5, a move that tripled the signup rate from iOS devices. We shouldn't have to wait too long for the answers to these questions, the iPad 3 has reportedly gone into production ahead of a planned March debut.

Bloomberg is reporting today that the iPad 3 has gone into production ahead at Foxconn of a planned March debut — manufacturing will apparently be running at full-tilt by February. The new tablet is said to have a quad-core processor, a high-res display, and LTE — all specs we've heard in the past, but Bloomberg says it has three sources confirming the news. Apple's said to be okay with the increased power draw of the LTE chipset because of the iPad's larger battery, and the display is said to look like "printed material," which lines up nicely with the 2048 x 1536 resolution that's been rumored forever — that would be a pixel density of 253dpi, which isn't quite up to Apple's Retina Display standard of 300dpi, but still much higher than the current iPad 2's 132.

We're obviously digging for as much additional info as we can find — we'll let you know.

Several pieces of the report do line up with previous reports we've heard of an iPad HD, including the pixel-doubled screen resolution and the idea that there would be a high-end iPad in the market at the same time as the existing iPad 2. However, DigiTimes also says that it would be released at iWorld (formerly just "Macworld") in January — a detail that casts a shadow over the entire report given Apple's withdrawal from the show and DigiTimes' rather lackluster record when it comes rumors about companies not based in its home country of Taiwan.

Apple hasn't historically been aggressive at adopting new cellular technology, preferring to value battery life over pure speed, but Qualcomm's next-generation 28nm chips should be available in Q2 of next year with LTE and HSPA+ on board. The iPhone 4S already uses Qualcomm chips, and the move to 28nm should be a major boon to battery life, making it a logical choice for Apple's next-generation devices. We'll see what happens — Cupertino certainly took its time going from the iPhone 4 to 4S.