10:56 PM
Lecor Martineau
While many people are focusing on the next generation of iPhone or iPad mini, the iPad 5 release date itself is perhaps more important. The iPad 5 is expected to be Apple’s best-selling iPad, and there are lots of rumours already about what the new iPad 5 will be like.
Apple itself has typically kept quiet about any developments on the iPad front, but we expect iPad 5 rumours, especially regarding the new iPad 5 release date to intensify over the next few months.
New iPad 5 release date
Speculation regarding a new iPad 5 release date is rampant at the moment, but we do expect a new iPad 5 model to be released at some point in 2013.
Narrowing the new iPad 5 release date down further than that requires some speculation. We can look at Apple’s history with iPad release dates. It’s interesting to note that the first iPad was released less than two years ago in April 2010. Apple then followed that with an iPad 2 in March 2011, iPad 3 in March 2012, and a surprise iPad 4 in November 2012.
History suggests that the new iPad 5 release date will be March 2013
So if we’re looking for a pattern to set a date for the new iPad 5 release, March 2013 would seem a good date to pick. This is when we expect the new iPad 5 release date to be.
Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White claims that his checks with industry sources during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January indicated that the iPad 5 would arrive in March, alongside the iPad mini 2 with Retina display.
However, the new iPad 4 was released in November 2012, just seven months after the iPad 3. And a new iPad 5 March 2013 release this would mean just five months between the iPad 4 and iPad 5 release date.
This does seem a little concertinaed to us, and Apple would be open to grumbles from iPad 4 owners about buying a technology that was so quickly superseded. Not that we expect that to stop Apple from forging ahead with the latest technology, but it does seem a little swift.
In mid-January, it was reported that Sharp had reduced the production of Apple’s full-size iPad displays to a ‘minimal level’, which some said indicates an upcoming iPad update.
Rumours suggest a new iPad 5 release date of June 2013
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek wrote in a research note in December that he believed Apple’s fifth-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter with a June 2013 launch.
There seems to be no firm reason for the slightly later release date, although it makes sense when you consider the recent release of the iPad 4, and the impending Apple Television. A slightly later June launch could make sense.
The new iPad 5 released date could be late 2013
It may be that Apple decides to move the new iPad 5 to a later point in the year, perhaps October or November 2012 to match up with a pre-Christmas launch of other products like the iPod and iPhones.
This later iPad 5 release date would also allow Apple to focus on an Apple Television launch in the first half the year.
New iPad 5 rumours
The new iPad 5 rumours are starting to come through the pipeline, although they are few and far between so far. Here is what we expect the new iPad 5 features to include.
New iPad 5 will have one LED Light Bar Retina Display
The new iPad 5 will keep the 9.7in Retina Display, however rumours suggest that the new iPad 5 will have just one LED Light Bar inside (the current iPad has two LED Light Bars). This is rumoured to be because Apple will be using newer, more efficient LED Light Bars than previously.
The LED Light Bars enable the iPad to display brightness and colour accurately, and two are currently required to power the the iPad Retina Display.
New iPad 5 will have IGZO display
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek wrote in a research note on that he believed Apple’s fifth-generation iPad would have an IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) display. These displays allow for smaller pixels which enable a device to have a higher resolution, or a higher reaction time for the display.
The IGZO displays are rumoured to be developed by Sharp. Sharp said the new technology allows for twice the detail of existing panels at the same transparency, which means high-resolution devices can be designed that require less power and space for backlighting. The company said the new displays cut power consumption by up to 90 percent versus those currently in use.
New iPad 5 will be thinner and lighter
Taiwanese news source DigiTimes reported first on switch to a single LED Light Bar in the upcoming new iPad 5 release. Removing one of the LED Light Bars will free up some space inside the new iPad 5, enabling Apple to produce a lighter and thinner device. It also has an advantage of reducing the power requirement of the new iPad 5, again enabling Apple to create a smaller and thinner new iPad 5 because it will not require so much battery space (the iPad is essentially one large battery with components inside and a display attached to it).
In January, trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities said that he predicts that Apple will launch a thinner, lighter 10in iPad in 2013, alongside a Retina iPad mini 2 and a cheaper iPod touch. The new iPad 5 could have a design similar to the iPad mini, and could be available in the same black and slate and white and silver designs as the smaller tablet.
New iPad 5 will look like the iPad mini
Although we have no firm idea of what Apple is planning with the new iPad 5 design, we can reasonably believe that it will take its cues from the recently restyled iPad mini and iPhone 5.
As with the iPad, it comes in two colours: white and black (although further colours have been introduced to the iPod touch, and these are a possibility).
There has also been this rumour that the next-generation iPhone 6 will come in a variety of colours. It is possible the the new iPad 5 will also come with more colourful options.
New technology will boost iPad 5′s performance and reduce power consumption
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is developing a 16nm process that Apple may adopt for future iPhone and iPad chips. The process should boost performance and reduce the power consumption of new Apple products.
New iPad 5 will have tougher Gorilla Glass 3 display
Corning has developed a new version of its Gorilla Glass for smartphones and tablets that it says will result in 40 percent fewer scratches, and will arrive in devices later this year, possibly including Apple’s iPhone 6, iPad 5 and iPad mini 2.
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