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.