iPad 3 – What to expect from the new tablet

Apple is rumored to hold an event on March 7, 2012 to unveil the new iPad 3. Here’s what we know about the upcoming tablet.

The Design

Don’t expect any huge changes in the overall appearance of the iPad 3. It will look very similar to the iPad 2. The new iPad is said to be 1 to 1.5 millimeters thicker and will have a more tapered design on the back. These changes should not effect Smart Covers but some skins and cases purchased for an iPad 2 may not work on an iPad 3.

Retina Display

MacRumors claims to have obtained an iPad 3 display and after examining the display under a microscope they determined the screen will have a 2048×1536 retina display. They sent the display to iFixit and they also confirmed that the display obtained by MacRumors has a 2048×1536 retina display. The display has 260 pixels per inch and is said to have much better quality than Blu-ray and full HD.

New Processor

It’s safe to say that the iPad 3 will be getting a new chip but there is some debate wether it will be an A5X or A6 chip. We expect that the iPad 3 carry Apple’s A5X chip which is still dual-core instead of the quad core A6 chip.

HD Camera

With a Retina Display, it only makes sense for Apple to improve the camera to HD quality. Apple Daily has leaked photos of the back of what may be an iPad 3. The image clearly shows a larger camera opening that supposedly sports an 8-megapixel camera. That would be the same quality camera that’s in the iPhone 4S, which would make sense.

LTE

The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon and AT&T will sell a version of the upcoming iPad that runs on the newest fourth generation networks. The new iPad will apparently fall back on the slower 3G network if there’s no LTE service available.

There’s also no word on whether there will be Sprint or T-Mobile versions.

Other Rumors

There has not been any clear evidence that Siri will be available on the iPad 3 other than the fact that the new CPU will support the popular feature. That doesn’t necessarily mean Siri will be in the list of features for the new tablet will but there is a good chance it will be included.

There has also been rumors of a smaller iPad to compete with lower priced tablets. In my opinion this is unlikely to happen. Apple is more likely to keep manufacturing the iPad 2 and drop the price by $100.

Originally posted 2012-02-26 01:03:21.