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iOS 4.3 beta suggests 1-megapixel camera for iPad 2
Adding to the growing collection of iPad 2 rumors, 9to5 Mac has done a bit of digging into the latest SDK to find a listing that says the iPad 2 will have a back-facing 1-megapixel camera. This is only slightly higher quality than the camera in the current-generation iPod touch. The front is suppose to be a VGA camera, just like the one in the iPhone 4 and iPod touch. Sources have told the site that K94, the name of the folder where the listing was found in the SDK, is the iPad 2's codename. As some of our commenters pointed out in Erica Sadun's recent wishlist, the purpose of the back camera might simply be for better augmented reality apps, or for use in Facetime to take a quick casual shot of your surroundings. As another commenter suggested, it would also be useful for taking inventory in a retail environment or scanning any number of barcodes -- and you wouldn't need a lot of megapixels for that. Of course, like everything else released lately, this is still just a rumor. We won't know for sure until the magic unveiling sometime within the next couple months. [via Engadget]
iOS 4.3 beta suggests iPad 2 has one megapixel rear camera
"The iPad 2 has a camera." We know, it feels all but certain at this point (even when it's far from official), but perhaps we can expand on that quoted assertion further. Like everyone else who can laugh at Objective-C jokes, 9 to 5 Mac has been digging through the latest iOS SDK and found some data referring to K94, which it claims is the codename for the next-generation iPad. (For reference, the original iPad was K48.) Anyway, within that code lies a string reference to "Back Facing 1MP Photo." Going further, the front-facing camera is reportedly VGA -- same as the iPhone, same as the iPod touch. It's unclear if the also-found "K95" files also included the same data, or what exactly that codename might be, but if you're the betting sort, feel free to say, "the iPad 2's megapixel mullet is 0.3 up front, 1 in the back." It's still a gamble until Apple unveils it with a puff of virtual smoke on a presentation slide.
Don't believe the icons: iPad 2 unlikely on February 9
9to5 Mac and others have suggested that the Calendar app icon in the iOS 4.3 beta hints at a release date for iPad 2. Unfortunately, it's not likely. A Springboard preview image in the latest iOS 4.3 beta shows the Calendar app with a big number 9 front-and-center. Remembering that the original iPad showed a 27, and that it was released on the 27th, some wondered if that 9 was a bit of foreshadowing. If so, we missed the hint long ago, because the same 9 can be found on original iPads running the latest iOS. To see it, tap Settings, then Brightness & Wallpaper. Two wallpaper thumbnails appear, one of which shows the Calendar icon with a big 'ol 9. In other words, it's nothing new. If an iPad is released announced* on February 9 (where did the February come from, by the way?), that icon will have had nothing to do with it. *Reader James O'Leary notes that 9to5 and others claim the 9th suggests an announcement date, not a launch. Fine. Still, the "9″ has been there for a long time and quite likely isn't meant as a hint. [Via 9to5 Mac]
iPad camera apps discovered in iOS 4.3 beta, nobody surprised
Oh look, even more evidence that the next generation iPad will be equipped with cameras. The image above showing the three new iPad apps was discovered in the iOS 4.3 beta 2 by MacRumors. To be effective, the iPad's Camera and FaceTime apps would require both back- and front-facing cameras just like the iPhone 4. The Photo Booth app is new to iOS but already ships on Macs running OS X -- it could, presumably, use either camera to record snapshots (with filters) and video. And really, at this point, with such overwhelming evidence the only surprise would be for Apple to announce a new iPad without a camera.
Next-gen iPad may come with proximity sensor, iOS 4.3 beta reveals
Some careful digging in the iOS 4.3 beta has revealed an intriguing new string intended for the iPad's Settings menu. As you can see above, users will be able to toggle a new auto-unlocking feature on their iPad, which would respond to closing and opening of the slate's cover (or case, or sleeve, or whatever). Though the iPad already has an ambient light sensor, the one true way to make this functionality work is by employing a good old proximity sensor, so we can probably pencil that into our ever-expanding list of iPad 2 attributes. Who'd have thought there were so many ways to improve on a magical revolution, eh?[Thanks, Mike]
Dear Aunt TUAW: Why would an iPad have a proximity sensor?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I've been hearing rumors that the next generation iPad might include a proximity sensor. Now call me dim, but I just don't get it. Proximity sensor? What the fudge? Are we supposed to be holding our iPads to our ears while we chat over Skype VoIP? Has Apple never heard of the (please imagine airquotes here) Bluetooth headset? I'm serious. Is this the stupidest rumor or what? Love, hugs, whatever, Your nephew Davie C.
iPads and Retina Displays: Doing the math
Over the weekend, we saw the swirling rumors around the specs for the (presumably inevitable) iPad 2 start to come together. One of the most intriguing suggestions, which Engadget claims to have a reliable source for (and MacRumors some corroborating evidence to boot) is a higher resolution screen to match the iPhone 4's Retina Display -- specifically, doubling in both directions, changing from 1024x768 to 2048x1536. This has prompted some discussion around exactly what Retina Display means, and whether this would count. The iPhone 4's screen is a mammoth 326 pixels-per-inch (ppi), whereas this rumored new iPad resolution is a somewhat lesser 264 ppi -- quite a bit less. However, I believe it's just as valid for Apple to call this a Retina Display as it was to call the iPhone 4 screen, and after the break I will explain why with some hopefully convincing mathematics. Firstly though, it's important to stress that these are only rumors and that 2048x1536 is an incredible number of pixels -- 3,145,728 of them, in fact. That's only 17 percent less than the 27" iMac or 27" Cinema Display, and it's 52 percent more pixels than a 50" 1080p television screen! This makes the screen expensive to make; it places greater strain on the graphics chipset to drive the screen, which makes that more expensive, too; it won't do the battery life any favors either. All of this, to my mind, suggests this is one rumor that might come down to wishful thinking. As John Gruber said: "I'll believe it when I see it."
iPad 2 cases surface, rekindle SD card slot fire and add a pinch of mystery with topside cutout
There's usually as much fun to be had before an Apple product launch as there is after, and this upcoming iPad 2 device is no exception. The latest scuttlebutt it has succumbed to comes courtesy of some cases that have cropped up in China -- AppleInsider and MIC Gadget have independently found iPad 2 shells that feature nearly identical cutouts -- with the resulting allegations pointing toward a rear-facing camera, an SD card slot, and perhaps even a Mini DisplayPort receptacle. Our own sources have confirmed the former two, but the latter, a miniaturized video output already featured in MacBooks, is a new development and less of a certainty. Then again, looking at the size of the hole leaves few alternative options (and a USB slot is extremely unlikely), so we're willing to believe that a Mini DisplayPort will be an inclusion Apple makes for the sake of offering choice -- even if it prefers you to send your video streams over an untethered AirPlay connection.
iPad 2 Retina Display evidence mounts, this time a .png of wood is to blame
So, we heard from our source that the iPad 2 would have a "super high resolution" Retina Display, we heard from AppleInsider that the iPad 2 is getting around 4X the graphics performance of the iPad, and of course there's the fact that the iPhone 4's Retina Display offered a pretty impressively painless upgrade path for developers -- an iPad 2 with a 2048 x 1536 screen is starting to sound less and less like the crazy dream of naive fanboys. But wait, there's more! A .png has been found in the iBooks 1.2 source files, dubbed Wood Tile@2x.png. It's sized at 1536 x 800, while the old and busted Wood Tile.png in iBooks 1.1 was 768 x 400 -- that's 2X in each direction, or 4X the pixels, for anyone who's counting. Incontrovertible evidence? No, but we want to believe.
Dreaming of the iPad 2: One geek's wishlist
Last night on the TUAW talkcast, Kelly asked me to speculate about what the mythical upcoming iPad 2 might look like. This was, of course, before preliminary details from Engadget apparently rolled in. In response, I ended up going on a little more in depth than I initially expected. Turns out that while I am completely unspoiled for the next iPad and have no inside information, I did have quite a bunch of strong opinions about what I'd like to see. After the leak today, I decided to revisit what I had discussed on the talkcast last night. I put together this compilation of my iPad wishlist, matching my wishes to the rumored feature list. Now, we don't know for sure that what we posted about earlier today are the true specs, but they are a terrific jumping off point for discussing what features the iPad 2 should be introducing.
Apple's A5 chip rumored to have 4X the power of A4
AppleInsider is reporting that both the iPad 2 and the next generation of the iPhone, both rumored to be released later on this year, will feature the next generation of chips designed by Apple. The A5 (named after the A4, the current chip in most iOS devices) is rumored to have two cores, making for faster graphics performance, and enabling things like the iPad 2's rumored Retina Display and HDTV out of the next version of the Apple TV. There's a lot of technical information out about the new chip (it will likely include the new SGX543 graphics core, an upgrade from the current model used by Apple), but with two cores running, the new chip model is supposed to offer around four times the processing power of the current generation. That allows for both the mentioned graphics upgrades, as well as faster computing tasks straight off of the processor with OpenCL. Apple's Intrinsity and P.A. Semi are likely to be the companies behind development, while Samsung is likely working on actual production. We can look for faster, better, stronger Apple chips later on this year. [via Engadget]
More details emerge on Apple's A5 chip for upcoming iPad 2 and iPhone 5
So, AppleInsider has some new info on Apple's successor to the A4, which we were talking up last week, and our sources say it's spot on. Specifically, AI claims that Apple is moving to dual-core SGX543 graphics, up from the A4's single SGX535 GPU (also known as the PowerVR 535). What's particularly great about this move is that the graphical power improvement is rated at around 4X the current generation -- which makes a true 4X resolution iPad "Retina Display" upgrade seem much more of a possibility. We're also starting to see 1080p HDMI video output as a "default" spec in this year's generation of devices, so there's no reason Apple will want to be left out -- particularly in the Apple TV -- and these dual graphics cores could handle that easily. The same cast of A4 characters are to credit for this new A5 generation, including the Apple-owned Intrinsity and PA Semi, while Samsung will again do the production duties. But details aside, we're just excited to play around with all this new horsepower when it hits -- apparently the PSP 2 is rumored to use the same graphics architecture with even more cores. Isn't Moore's law a grand thing?
iPad 2 specs starting to take shape
A number of rumors and possible hardware leaks over the weekend are starting to give us a clearer picture of what the iPad 2 might look like and its possible specs. Before the weekend, we'd already heard the next-gen iPad will have a redesigned case with a flatter backside (similar to the iPod touch), and the new iPad is rumored to be shipping in early April, one year after the original's release to market. The next-gen iPad is also supposedly shipping with front- and rear-facing cameras. Engadget scored an exclusive over the weekend with a well-placed source who confirmed the iPad 2's shipping date, cameras, and case redesign. Their source also claims the iPad 2 will have an SD slot; if true, it will almost certainly be for data transfer and not for expanding the iPad's built-in storage. The iPad 2 may also feature a dual GSM/CDMA chipset that will allow Apple to manufacture a single, unified iPad line for use with CDMA carriers (Verizon, in other words) and GSM carriers (almost everyone else in the world). Engadget also hinted at a "super high resolution" display on the next iPad, and most of the rumors over the weekend have revolved around that display. Developers picked apart iBooks and found multiple pieces of artwork in the program that appear to be designed for an iPad with exactly double the 1024 x 768 resolution of the current model. This would put the iPad 2's screen resolution at 2048 x 1536, for a pixel density of 260 dpi. This is not quite as pixel-dense as the iPhone 4's Retina Display, which at 960 x 540 and 326 dpi is of high enough resolution that most people with average eyesight are incapable of discerning individual pixels. However, a 2048 x 1536 pixel screen also exceeds the resolution of any other Apple portable by a wide margin; the 17" MacBook Pro's 1920 x 1200 screen pales in comparison.
Three iPad dummy SKUs appear at Best Buy website
There's not much to see here, folks, just a few listings on Best Buy's website for Apple iPads that don't currently exist. They could be the result of a database error, an employee prank, or even just wishful thinking. Still, between well-placed sources informing us that a super-high-resolution, SD-card bearing, dual-mode iPad 2 is on the way and a feeling of déjà vu, we can't help but think there might be a rather exciting prize behind doors number one, two and three. Or perhaps just a Verizon iPad. We're sure that would make someone's day. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Exclusive: The future of the iPad 2, iPhone 5, and Apple TV, and why Apple is shifting its mobile line to Qualcomm chipsets
We've been hearing a ton of rumors about what direction Apple's next set of products will take and when they'll be available -- but now we've got some concrete information from reliable sources which should make the path a little clearer. And that includes info on the next iPad, the iPhone 5, the second iteration of the new Apple TV, and a big change coming for all of the company's mobile products. Want to know the scoop? Read along after the break to get the goods.
More iOS 4.3 digging hints at new iPad 2 camera, same 1024 x 768 display
We love all the little goodies that come out of iOS developer builds. It's been only a day since 4.3 hit the scene and already we've seen hints of future iPhone / iPad models, a Find My Friends feature, and now more hints of a camera for the next iPad. Which, of course, is far from the first time we've heard iPad and camera in the same utterance (cases, mockups, paperwork, even more code). Today's revelation comes in the form of shutter screens and camera / video icons care of 9 to 5 Mac, but here's the catch: to believe these imagery to be the real thing is to also accept that the iPad 2 might have the same 1024 x 768 display, given that's what these pictures are optimized for. You didn't really believe the iPad 2 would have a 9.7-inch, 2530 x 1897 resolution retina display... did you? Well, it's only speculative, anyway.
Rumor: iPad 2 coming in early April
Now that we have the Verizon iPhone out of the way, the iPad 2 rumors are starting to pile up quickly. In what seems to be more of an educated guess than an actual report from a "reliable source," German-language Apple site MacNotes.de says that the next-generation iPad is scheduled to be released in the US on either April 2 or April 9, 2011. This doesn't surprise the blogging team at TUAW; we've often felt that the iPad 2, or whatever it will be called, would be released on an annual schedule in much the manner of the iPhone and other devices. Since the inaugural iPad dropped on April 3, 2010, it would stand to reason that the second model would appear about one calendar year later. The MacNotes.de "source" also claims that the new iPad will have a Retina Display (although most Apple pundits agree that there's no way it can match the 326 pixels per inch resolution of the iPhone 4 and latest iPod touch), front and back cameras and a USB port. Much of the other information in the post is similar to what we've seen happen to the original iPad over the past year. MacNotes.de says their source believes the new iPad will sell only in the US for three months, and will be sold only through Apple Stores for up to half a year. International sales begin in July of 2011, but other US retailers, such as Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, may have to wait until October or so to sell the new model. Once again, this seems more logical speculation than words from an actual source. [via MacRumors]
iPad 2 mockup teases 128GB storage, exhibits speaker grille we've seen before
Apple itself might not be at CES, but the prospective upgrade of its iPad to version two has accessory manufacturers (or at least manufacturers' imaginations) working overtime. We've just come across our second iPad 2 mockup, this one a lot more comprehensive than the first, which seems to mesh well with some earlier imagery we've seen of the supposed next-gen Apple tablet. Not only that, its rear label reveals an A1337 product code -- one that's also shared by the current iPad WiFi + 3G -- and lists 128GB of onboard storage, two times the current tablet's maximum. We don't know what material it's made out of, but it felt felt the same as the current iPad's aluminum shell. All that said, this is still just a mockup from a no-name accessory maker and we're just as willing to believe it was put together on the basis of some decent rumor research as we are to think that it really is the iPad 2. No harm in browsing some pictures of this 9.4mm-thick device, though eh? %Gallery-113105%
iPad 2 mockup, case appear at CES
We have already seen a few iPad 2 case renderings hit the internet, but Engadget hit the jackpot when they stumbled on a real-life case at CES. The case was developed by Dexim and included a notch for a front camera, a hole for a rear-facing camera and an opening for larger speakers. The case even enclosed a mockup iPad 2 fashioned out of aluminum. The mockup device was slimmer than the current iPad and featured tapered edges similar to the fourth generation iPod touch. Beyond the iPad 2 styling, the case also included a magnetic, removable Bluetooth keyboard that lets you use the iPad as a laptop. While intriguing, the appearance of this Dexim offering does not bring any new information to the table. All the iPad 2 physical characteristics embodied in this case have been hinted at in earlier leaked information and previous case designs, What is does do is cause us to stop and consider the source information that determined this case design. As we saw with Hard Candy Cases last year at Macworld Expo 2010, it is common practice for case manufacturers to produce mockup devices and prototype cases prior to a device's release. Dexim may have designed this case using information from sources that unofficially confirmed the hardware characteristics of the iPad 2. It is equally possible that the company is betting the bank that earlier rumors are correct with the hope that it can be among the first to launch a next generation iPad case. Regardless of their source information, the novelty of this iPad 2 mockup will no doubt turn heads at CES and will be a public relations win for Dexim.
iPad 2 case shows up at CES, packing a mockup iPad 2
We've been seeing supposed iPad 2 cases for about a month now, all of them with the same telltale cutouts: a camera hole in the back, a camera hole in the front, and a big ol' speaker hole. Today's find beats them all, however: we just found a case with a machined aluminum iPad 2 mockup inside. Dexim is the eager exhibitor, with an actually very intriguing case design involving a Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically adheres to the front cover of the book-like sleeve, allowing for a laptop-style setup, or a keyboard-free case when you want to shave a few ounces. It was so intriguing that we asked to put our own iPad inside, which is when we were told it wouldn't fit, since the case was designed for the next iPad. Indeed, the mockup that we found inside the case was a tad bit slimmer than the first-gen iPad, with a taper leading to the edges that reminds us of the iPod touch, and a home button positioned nearer the bottom edge. We found all the typical cutouts on the case, and their mirror on the machined mockup, including a large square for the speaker.So, what does it all mean? Well, there's certainly a consistent iPad 2 make that these Chinese manufacturers seem to be designing against, and while there's always the off chance that their info is wrong, it seems odd they'd go so far as to actually make the cases if they were unsure about their sources. It also means a slimmer iPad with cameras and a bigger speaker, which is never a bad thing. Check the pictures in the gallery below and make up your own mind.%Gallery-112605%
