It’s hard to believe that there have already been five iPads released since 2010. Four 9.7-inch tablets along with and one 7.8-inch tablet have all been unveiled by Apple over the past two years and if Japanese blog Mac Otakara are correct, a 6th iPad could be set to debut in March of 2013. This new fifth generation 9.7-inch iPad is expected to take its design cues from its smaller sibling with a thinner and lighter chassis, narrower bezel and matte finish rear shell. Although some people might say that a March release seems a little premature given that the current generation was only just replaced back in October, given the growing competition Apple has faced in the mobile market, upping the release cycle ante seems like a necessary strategy. Furthermore the iPad 3 was introduced in March of 2012 also and given the emergence of the post-PC era, it would seem that manufacturers like Apple are moving to refresh their product lineup more frequently, in Apple’s case, once every 7 and three quarter months. This release rate is consistent with Apple’s Macbook lineup schedule also, so this precedent certainly gives us some reason to at least consider the potential credibility of the report.
Mac Otakara did not elaborate on specifications for this new iPad, however they did state that the iPad Mini is currently in the works, although that seems obvious. Speculation points to the 2013 iPad Mini featuring a 7.9-inch Retina Display and the same internal processor, GPU and RAM specs as the current fourth generation iPad 4, which would seem in line with that device’s more affordable price point. Of course we can only take these reports as conjecture and hearsay for the time being, so stay tuned for more on this story as it develops further in the new year.
To read the original report, visit the Mac Otakara article by clicking here.
