Could there be a new iPad in our immediate future ? It appears so , if Apple’splanned medium outcome next weekis any denotation .
Apple sent out invitations Tuesday toMacworldand other spiritualist outlets for the March 7 event . And based upon the invitation mental imagery — a hand oscillate over an iPad presentation — the obtain word on the street is that Apple will likely take the wrapper off the iPad 3 next Wednesday . Unless it takes a page out of the iPhone ’s playbook and gives us an iPad 2S instead , that is .
Should an updated iPad be on the agenda for next week , there are things wethinkwe know about the iPad 3 , boast we ’re less sure about , and then a few features we ’re quite sure wo n’t make the cold shoulder .
What seems likely
Display funfair : Of all the rumored features that the iPad 3 might include , none have been rumored louder than a Retina display . That ’s the term Apple coin to describe the screen it ab initio unveiled with the iPhone 4 — a screen door with a pixel density so uttermost that , at normal viewing Angle , the average human oculus literally ca n’t pick out the individual pixels . The iPad , however , has never sported a screen of that quality , even as the iPod touch drive in on the Retina display activeness . A Retina display on the iPad would be no small feat , especially at the iPad ’s current terms , but it seems likely that Apple really will enforce the display on its pill .
photograph finish : The iPad 2 ’s cameras are mainly good in comparison to the cameras on the original iPad — which , as you may recall , did not have any cameras . Still , in compare them to , say , the iPhone 4S ’s , or even the iPhone 4 , the iPad 2 ’s cameras leave much to be desired . While some may indicate that the iPad does n’t get used to take pictures in the same way that your phone does , there are plenty of apps that use the camera for other tasks , like video capture and chit-chat , data input , and game . So why not perforate up those cameras on the iPad 3 ? They do n’t necessarily have to be of the same calibre as the photographic camera built into the iPhone 4S , but the ones from the iPhone 4 would be more than sufficient for now .
Et tu , iPad 2 ? : While it ’s not an iPad 3 feature film per se , odds are moderately right that Apple will follow its iPhone line model and offer a discounted version of the iPad 2 play along the iPad 3 ’s launching . A disregard iPad 2 still might not get as cheap as the Kindle Fire , but a $ 300 iPad 2 with limited repositing space might reckon awfully appealing to folks over any of the numerous , interchangeable , and bland pill contender in the grocery .
reliable to organize : The rumor mill suggest that the iPad 3 will look an dreadful spate like the iPad 2 , though not entirely selfsame . But we envision a design alteration far less dramatic than the change between the original iPad and its heir — don’t wait any major ironware changes or young buttons . Some have suggest that Apple might go so far as to polish off the Home push button in the new iPad , but we do n’t cogitate it likely since it render a convenient and impossible - to - mislay backbone for users .
common carrier on , my wayward son : And get ’s not draw a blank bearer plenty — the iPhone is n’t the only gimmick that can be used on a cellular net . Right now , the iPad 2 is uncommitted with a 3 gravitational constant data option for either AT&T or Verizon in the U.S. The iPhone 4S , of course , is also available with Sprint , so it certainly seems like a no - brainer that the company will flap out an iPad modelling compatible with that toter ’s electronic web . That ’s aided by the fact that Sprint and Verizon both habituate the CDMA standard for their cell networks , so it should be little trouble for Apple to add a third manakin .
What might be possible
Come on baby , LTE my fire : Much practical ink has been spilled on the theory of an LTE - compatible iPad . LTE , or Long - Term Evolution , is the next - generation protocol for jail cell networks — in many case , it ’s what postman are talking about when they brag about their 4 G service .
This new technology has the potency for much high-pitched data velocity than the current 3 G technologies , but it ’s not without its drawbacks : presently , for lesson , LTE chips take much more power than their more economical precursor . Then again , the iPad , with its usually stellar shelling life , may be more able to take that hit than the iPhone , especially since user probably rely more on Wi - Fi than cell signal .
But the liberal road block may be the availability of 4 deoxyguanosine monophosphate networks , which are only now being twine out by the carrier in major markets . It ’s a definite possibleness for the iPad 3 , but given the early nature of the technology , we would n’t be surprised to see it delayed to a future model .
Quad - core - rophenia : you may never have too many processor cores , veracious ? The iPad 2 ’s A5 chip sports two cores , pack substantial punch over the single core in the original iPad . Apple has shown that it thinks the future is n’t just faster processor , but multicore one . So the troupe ’s rumored A6 — which would follow logically on the heels of the A4 and A5 — could pack four cores , possibly once again giving the equipment a bragging hike over its predecessor . Such a change would in all likelihood come with a magnate - consumption price tag , however , especially if compound with LTE . But the improvement in mainframe capabilities would be nice , peculiarly for those always power - athirst games that people so love to diddle on their tablets .
Touch - a , pinch - a , mite - a touch me : Looking back at the invitation to the iPad event , it says : “ We have something you really have to see . And touching . ” The first judgment of conviction ( or , for pedants , the only sentence ) seemingly concern to the Retina display . But the survey - up sherd may just imply that the iPad 3 employ some sorting of haptic feedback — a tactile response when you touch the screen door . Of course , the “ And ghost ” line could merely be nothing more than marketing - speak . But typing is probably the least satisfying element of using an iPad to escort . Haptic feedback couple with the on - concealment keyboard might make multitouch - type a bit easier , if you could feel some strong-arm hotshot as you “ depress ” the practical key .
On the software side
But Siri - ously , folks : To date , the iPhone 4S is the only Apple production that offers consolidation with Siri , the company ’s unnaturally intelligent voice recognition assistant . The iPad 3 may eventually buck that course , offering the power to set reminders , appointments , and timers ; compose emails and iMessages ; regain friends and addresses ; look up all sorts of data ; and , of course , flirt — all by talking to the lozenge .
Picture imperfect tense : you’re able to kiss any dreams of iWeb for Io goodbye , but there is one major app from Apple ’s screen background offer that ’s yet to make an appearance on the iPad — iPhoto . The Photos app on the iPad today is awfully circumscribed compared to iPhoto on the desktop ; it lack the sorting of characteristic parity that Calendar , Mail , and middleman seem to offer with their various desktop counterparts . If the iPad 3 really does let in better tv camera , that coupled with iCloud ’s Photo Stream may well think of that better , more iPhoto - esque photo management could launch alongside the iPad 3 .
Office space : Last hebdomad , The Dailyreported that Microsoft was tough at work on Office for iPad . Microsoft suggested thatThe Dailywas bonkers , but did so without denying that Redmond was , in fact , hard at study on Office for iPad . Thoughsome have arguedthat let Microsoft reveal Office for Io at the iPad effect would be more good to Microsoft than Apple , there ’s no deny that there are those in the byplay world who wo n’t be satisfied until they get a native Word experience on the tablet . ( There are far fewer rooting for the triumphant return ofClippy . )
Point - release gaolbreak : It ’s also potential that Apple ’s been holding off on the release of iOS 5.1 so that it can cooccur with either the iPad 3 ’s declaration or release . If that ’s true , we might learn about some small-scale systemwide improvements that are coming shortly . For example , the company announcedboth Io 4.1 and 4.2 at a music event in September 2010 , which saw the introduction of feature like Air Play , Air Print , and Game Center .
raw app - ortunities : iWork for the iPad was announced alongside the original iPad ; when Apple unveiled the iPad 2 , it free GarageBand for iPad too . Thus , if history is any guide , we might not just pick up about the next iPad on March 7 ; we might encounter some new Io software package , as well . And it would n’t be scandalous to learn about small or significant updates to Apple ’s App Store apps that we already know about — the said iWork apps and GarageBand head among them .
What we don’t expect
A smaller iPad : Apple will bundle a stylus with the iPad before it releases a 7 - in translation of the tablet .
A stylus : Apple will shut down its company and render the money to the shareholders before it release a stylus for any of its touchscreen devices .
The iPhone 5 : This is not an iPhone outcome , people . The iPhone 4S is n’t even six calendar month old yet , so do n’t await a unexampled model .
An update Mac Pro : We do n’t even sleep with what article you ’re read anymore .
One more thing…
Even the prediction we ’re most convinced about are really just educated guesses . We wo n’t know anything definitively until Apple narrate us . Macworldwill , of grade , be at the issue in person , with live coverage of whatever Tim Cook and company choose to share ; do n’t miss our liveblog on Wednesday , March 7 at 10 a.m Pacific , 1 p.m. Eastern .
[ Lex Friedman is a Macworld staff writer ; Dan Moren is a elderly associate editor . ]
