“Yesterday, one day ahead of the 2012 CES, I saw what’s supposedly the next-generation iPad,” Jeremy Horwitz reports for iLounge. “I’d show you a picture, but there’s honestly nothing to be seen. Think iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S: this device so resembles the iPad 2 that differences are only obvious when they’re placed next to each other. From the back, you could walk past this new iPad on display and have no idea that anything had changed.”
“The new iPad’s body is so slightly thicker than the iPad 2 that the change is unnoticeable on first inspection; a roughly 1mm increase will barely be perceptible to users… On the rear, the camera in the upper left corner has become bigger—noticeably so when placed alongside the iPad 2, but not so huge that anyone would think they were different at a distance. The new camera hole is silver-ringed, and does in fact look the same size as the iPhone 4S’s much-improved rear camera system, minus the LED flash,” Horwitz reports. “From the front, the next iPad and iPad 2 appear to look basically the same—apart, of course, from the screen. That’s going to be Apple’s big focus when the new device is announced, but I didn’t see it.”
Horwitz reports, “These changes are so modest that Apple could easily call this device the ‘iPad 2S’ or ‘iPad 2HD’ if it wanted to start the lettering game with its tablets. The screen and other major internal changes could collectively justify the “iPad 3” moniker, but we’ll see.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Horwitz has a good track record with regard to next-gen iPads.
Apple is going backwards. The goal above all else should be to make the iPad thinner and lighter without sacrificing battery life.
I’d rather have an iPad 2 with slimmer hardware and the same screen and innards than an HD-screened iPad 3 that’s thicker and likely heavier.
What creative insight…
Hopefully the next version of the iPad will be so razor thin that R2 will be able to cut an artery.
Yes, I’d love for the iPad to be so thin. I want it to be as thin and light as humanly possible. If it could cut me, I would be thrilled. : )
Dude, it’s one effing mm… No one, not even a clown like you, will EVER notice 1mm difference. moron.
1mm will indeed be noticeable. And it could be slightly heavier as well.
R2, do you work for MS?
I’d rather have a thicker device personally, if it meant having a better battery.
My iPhone 4 battery won’t make it through the day without plugging into power at every opportunity.
Welcome to the comment board, Ballmer!
1 mm R2. Even C3PO probably wouldn’t notice that.
probably not noticeably heavier with a one mm increase
I won’t believe it until someone loses it in a bar.
+1000000
Or if samsung has already started making mockups…
Why would Apple bring an unannounced iPad to CES
Apple didn’t bring it, it’s somebody who has access to the shells being constructed in China.
If you click the link, you’ll see that the same thing happened this time last year when somebody brought the case of an iPad 2 that turned out to be dead on. I’m sure the naysayers on here swore that wouldn’t really be the next iPad either.
But there is no reason for next iPad be 1 mm thicker. It is blatant nonsense.
(And this can not has anything to do with display, since its possible retina-class resolution does not increase thickness in any way. Not it has anything to do with battery, since there is enough of free space in the current iPad 2 for significant increase of battery. Apple does not increase the buttery since weight is the issue.)
The iPad 3 is rumored to have an HD display, quad core processor and 4G LTE chip. All of this will no doubt necessitate a beefier battery for such a powerhouse of a device. And you say there’s no reason for it to be thicker? Lol. In fact if it was only 1mm thicker, I’d consider that an engineering feat.
My point was that I have no use for any of that crap. I’d much rather sacrifice the lofty specs if it meant making the iPad 2 thinner and lighter and offering that as the update.
As I wrote, there is enough of free space in iPad 2 for bigger battery (no need to make it thicker). But Apple does not use it and will not use it since it cares for weight of the device.
4-core A6 SoC will be done at 28 nm norms, which will result that it will consume no more power than current A5 at 45 nm norms.
LTE chipset will be of new generation, so it will consume tolerable amounts of power (contrary to current LTE chipsets).
So neither thickness, nor weight of iPad 3 (iPad Retina of however it will be called) will not be bigger. Thinner and lighter — this is possibility.
I sure hope you’re right.
Whore-o-dimwits saw a first gen iPad.
With a camera?
A thicker ipad? Wait, is that a Samsung logo?
It will be called the “maxi pad”.. However Proctor and Gamble might sue for trademark infringement.
It’s not easy to improve on perfection. But Apple will. The only way an IPad would be at CES is to confound the competition and the media whores.
Martians were spotted in the South Hall
Thats kinda hard to believe as tight lipped Apple is about things. I think the same rumor was happening with the iPad or iPad 2 at CES, but forget whether it was a true rumor.
uh-oh … looks like iLounge might get another Apple bitchslap and then start whining about favoritism again.
Horowitz = self-important douche.
And I saw darth vader in vegas yesterday. Really!