Josh OngDigiTimes claims that the Cupertino, Calif., company's manufacturing partners have already begun delivering parts and components for the third-generation iPad to OEM contractors while preparing to draw down production of the iPad 2, according to its sources.
The report went on to note that OEM production of the iPad 2 is expected to remain steady at 14-15 million units in the December quarter, before declining to 4-5 million units in the first quarter of 2012. Sources said production of the so-called iPad 3 will reach 9.5-9.8 million units next quarter.
China's Commercial Times has reported Citigroup analyst Kevin Chang as saying that Foxconn will begin producing the device in January ahead of large-scale production in February.
The firm also recently claimed that the third-gen iPad will arrive in February, a month earlier than DigiTimes' reported timeline. Analyst Richard Gardner said sources had indicated there were no "significant technical hurdles remaining" for the device.
Apple has thus far preferred to release previous generations of the iPad in the spring. The original iPad was announced in January 2010 and launched in April. The second-generation iPad was announced in March of this year and shipped later that month.
The next-generation iPad is widely believed to include a display with Retina Display-like quality. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Apple has invested in a Sharp factory for production of LCD panels for the next iPad. Those panels have been rumored to utilize IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology to help provide a thinner design while improving battery life.
A recent report out of Japan claimed the iPad 3 may actually be slightly thicker than the current-generation iPad 2, though the reason for the purported increase remains unknown. The device will, however, reportedly still be compatible with Apple's Smart Cover.
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55 Comments
A February debut for the iPad doesn't make sense: A.) based on Apple's previous release history, and most importantly B.) the shutdown of various Chinese companies in observance of the Lunar New Year. The latter would affect the entire supply chain (i.e., most of the component suppliers), not just final assembly partners like Foxconn, Pegatron, etc.
One would assume that the next-generation iPad has a new SoC, presumably the A6, so again an early arrival doesn't seem plausible.
A March-April timeframe is much more believable.
I hope it is a big beautiful Retina Display. That would be something to behold.
But I'll believe it when I see it.
That makes perfect sense, as it puts it in line for it's yearly update and roughly 12 months since the last one was released. There will also be a huge demand for it, so many people won't be able to get one right away, just like with the iPad 2. So, even if it were to get released in 3-4 months, people shouldn't count on getting one right away. It could be a half a year away or more until it's actually easy to get your paws on one.
One thing is for sure though. There sure were a lot of suckers who bought into the ridiculous and dumb rumor that an iPad 3 would be released in the fall of 2011. That rumor was so damn stupid and ignorant, and I can't believe that anybody could actually fall for that one.
These iPad3 rumors are all lining up...
I think we are overdue for some wide-eyed iPad4 rumors!
Quad-core Cortex-A9-based A6 SoCs or dual-core Cortex-A15-based A6s? I'm going with quad-core Cortex-A9s (and quad-core GPUs).
China's Commercial Times has reported Citigroup analyst Kevin Chang as saying that Foxconn will begin producing the device in January ahead of large-scale production in February.
If they aren't producing until January then we aren't likely getting these until March or April. I'd expect the production to have started in November or December for a February to March launch.PS: Looks like Samsung might try to beat Apple to the punchwith a prototype Galaxy Tab with a 2560x1600 display. That's about 4ppi below what the Retina Display iPad will have at 264ppi, so basically on par with other in pixel density. However that's an extra million pixels, or about 30% more pixels to push so I wouldn't expect such a device to be on the market until at least 6 months after an iPad with Retina Display, to have poor performance and battery life, and to first be released in some limited fashion in a country with little impact in sales just so Samsung can claim some Pyrrhic victory.
Of course, if they do have a prototype at CES that on one can touch the asshats on this forum will forever claim that Samsung did it first and that Apple copied them regardless of how much of longer it takes Samsung to bring their device to market. Well, at any rate it does lend another point to the iPad 3 rumour being true.