As far as tablet designs are concerned, sleek, slim and lightweight is what's in fashion these days and this is exactly how Apple plans to make the iPad 3, which is expected to be released in March 2012. Ever wondered how Apple will make its drastically thin tablet even thinner? You're about to find out.
Apple has placed orders of slimmer batteries for iPad 3 to suppliers Simplo and Dynapack. These are the companies that made the batteries for iPad 2 as well which comparatively were thicker and heavier. This new battery costs Apple 20-30% more on battery expenditure yet still Apple has placed the order. The only logical explanation for this that comes to mind is that Apple plans to make the iPad 3 thinner and lighter or make more room for the alleged Retina Display of iPad 3 which is a desperately awaited feature of the iPad 3, while making the tablet even thinner.
The initial supply of the batteries will be made towards the end of this year whereas the main supply will be made in the beginning of 2012. This tarnishes the rumors that were suggested that iPad 3 will be released later this year. Therefore it is more likely for the iPad 3 to be released in March 2012 as Apple is likely to stick to its release cycles. The iPad 2 was revealed earlier this year in March so it would make perfect sense for Apple to release the next generation iPad at the same time next year, however since Apple is way off of its WWDC iPhone 5 release cycle, its highly likely that the iPad 3 release may face delays as well.
As far as the specs are concerned, rumours will have you believe that Apple is going to put a Retina Display in its next iPad. Even before the iPad 2 was released, we heard a ton of rumours about a Retina Display in iPad 2 but that never really happened. What can be said for sure though is that Apple will fit in a quad-core A6 processor, LTE 4G support, better cameras, possibly more storage space while making the device radically thinner. Yes, they just might retain the legendary 10 hour battery life as well in the iPad 3. Rumour also indicates that the iPad 3 price will be similar to that of the iPad 2.
The iPad 3 is still far from reality. Although we do know that the third generation iPad is in trial production and an early 2012 release is possible. We'll keep updating you as soon as more comes in regarding Apple's upcoming tablet.