Apple iPad 3 Event Scheduled For March 7th In San Francisco
by Saumitra Bhagwat on February 28, 2012 12:16 PM ESTIt's not like we weren't expecting it, but Apple's now made it official. The event is scheduled for March 7th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST.
Apparently, the event is about something they would really like us to see, and touch. If you pay close attention to the image, that is definitely not a 1024x768 pixel display, but instead a super-high resolution Retina display as most us have come to expect. Most estimates currently put the resolution at twice that of the original iPad/iPad 2; or at a ridiculous 2048x1536 pixels. That should put the iPad 3's display at 264ppi, which is still shy of the iPhone 4's 326ppi display, but impressive nonetheless. In comparison, the optional high resolution displays on the current-gen 15" MacBook Pros sport a modest 1680x1050 resolution.
Amongst other things, the new iPad should bring with it upgraded internals such as a faster processor; possibly an upgraded SoC with faster graphics and better front and rear-facing cameras. Since Apple never publicly releases the specifications of its SoCs, it would be unwise to comment on the exact nature of the silicon inside the iPad 3 until we can run benchmarks and draw some inferences about the architecture, process node, performance and power consumption of the new chip. It remains to be seen whether Apple offers Siri on the iPad 3 or if it would remain as an iPhone-exclusive feature. However, it would be fair game to expect iOS 5.1 to launch alongside the new iPad 3.
What is certain however, is that the added lure of the Retina display, amongst other things, should keep Apple comfortably ahead of the competition in terms of absolute revenue and unit sales. We can also expect pre-order systems to crash, and long lines outside Apple stores shortly.
If the date on the calendar is any hint, the wait isn't terribly long now. Keep your credit cards ready.
Source: The Verge
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solipsism - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
That seems likely. Whatever the display tech they are using in the iPad (I'm guessing AH-IPS) it seems like Apple's assumed investment of $3.9 billion with LG might be paying off for Macs, too.I think they will be pushing heavily into Macs this year to capitalize on the rest of the PC industry faltering. Of course, everything I read about Mountain Lion says, in best Kanye voice, 'Apple doesn't care about Mac people!" but that seem quite opposite of everything they are doing.
ananduser - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
The faltering PC industry includes macs.solipsism - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
The industry is down, but they aren't down nearly as far as they could be when Apple's PCs are included.ananduser - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
You can say the same about Lenovo. Ever since their entry into this faltering market they've been growing hugely. Apple's mac growth is also about the fatigue of the win brand, their own halo effect besides the fine products that mac computers obviously are. Lenovo will hit the ceiling faster, Apple has plenty of room to grow. It is bad in my opinion that it grows so slowly but in the same time that they've been doing it steadily for a long time which is great.solipsism - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - link
Lenovo and few others are seeing tremendous growth. Unlike Acer a few years back with netbooks Lenovo looks to be making good products.As for Mac growth slow and steady does often win out. I do think Apple is preparing to go strong with Macs this year so I won't be surprised if their growth rate increases, especially as China is showing more interest.
zorxd - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
I think they should have raised the resolution of their notebooks to 2560x1600 before raising the resolution of the iPad to 2048x1536tipoo - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Similar to CPUs, its about yields, its easier to get lots of working 9.7" displays at some crazy resolution than it is 13 or 15 or even larger panels.zorxd - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Well even the small 11" mac book air has a low resolution. And 11 is close enough to 9.7tipoo - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
Maybe they wanted to wait until they could do the 11 and 13 inch together, I dunno. Either way, it won't be the first time an iDevice gets features before Macs.solipsism - Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - link
There is nothing odd about the iPad getting a HiDPI display before the a larger display device just as there was nothing odd about the iPhone 4 getting a HiDPI display device before larger devices. Before there there is a long history of HiDPI devices with even smaller screens. Bottom line: smaller devices get higher PPI first.But if the iPad can get a 265 PPI for a 10" display that they will 20 million+ per month then it probably is possible for Apple to do the double resolution in the 13", 15" and perhaps even the 17" MBP. Hopefully this also mean IPS.