The iPad continues to be one of the most loved and bestselling tablets around, even with a sudden surge in competing products right before this holiday season. It is so popular that the next model isn’t even out yet, and bloggers and tech writers are seemingly obsessed with the iPad 3.
New rumors about this upcoming device have been pummeling the blogosphere and Apple rumor sites. The following are some of the most current rumors that may or may not end up being true about this highly anticipated upcoming Apple release.
It is supposed to be out on February 24th.
Despite plenty of reasons for a later, delayed release, there are plenty of analysts speculating that Apple is pushing to put out the iPad 3 on February 24th. Why?
February 24th is the birthday of the late Steve Jobs. Not only would this be a great tribute to him, but this would not be the first time Apple rolled out devices on Jobs’ special day. Last February 24th, Apple launched their newest batch of MacBook Pros, but that date may have just been a marketing decision and not a part of a birthday celebration.
There will be a much smaller iPad 3.
The existing iPad is one of the larger tablets on the market. Many of the competing devices, such as many Android tablets and top devices like the Amazon Kindle Fire, are considerable smaller, between 7 and 10 inches. Rumor has it that the new iPad 3 may also come out in this scaled-down size.
While no official reports have cited this, analysts seem to think this is a major possibility, but not on release. This smaller model will probably have a display of less than 8” and will come out in the fourth quarter of 2012 for the next holiday season.
The next iPad will look markedly different.
Again, there are no official reports, but rumors seem to hint that all of the iOS devices rolling out in the coming year may be majorly redesigned. Some are speculating that the iPad 3 will even lack the signature home key.
Like all rumors, the validity of this is up for debate. A bevy of leaked “iPad 3” parts keep turning up, but if previous leaked parts are any indication, they may not be legitimate. One of these leaked parts is a slightly redesigned home key supposedly for the upcoming iPad 3.
Apple is already producing the iPad 3.
If the February launch date is to be believed, this rumor may well be true. This rumor, however, has been picked up by few of the Apple gossip sites, which means that many don’t think this is true. While there have been plenty of supposed leaked parts, there haven’t been the usual leaked production photos yet.
As Apple is still producing the iPad 2, it seems doubtful that the next generation product is already in production. It is a possibility however that Apple has covertly shifted to this new product and that Tim Cook is doing an excellent job of keeping this secret under wraps.
