Rumor: 4G LTE is 'good to go' for Apple's third-gen iPad
Yet another report surfaced on Monday to join the chorus of others who have indicated that Apple plans to add a high-speed 4G LTE wireless radio to its third-generation iPad.
Citing the same source who correctly told the site last month that Apple would hold an "iPad 3" event on March 7, iMore has said that Apple's next iPad will include 4G long-term evolution data connectivity. The site said that LTE in the new iPad is "good to go" and will be unveiled at this week's event.
The site also said it is "hearing" that the next iPad will ship with a quad-core processor. Recent reports have been split on whether the processor in the new iPad will be dual-core, like the current iPad 2, or quad-core.
As for 4G LTE, The Wall Street Journal first reported last month that Apple's third-generation iPad would feature a wireless radio compatible with the high-speed 4G networks of carriers Verizon and AT&T in the U.S. There has been no indication regarding compatibility with other LTE carriers around the world.
AT&T and Verizon are currently the only two operators in the U.S. that run LTE networks. Verizon's 4G network now reaches 200 million people, while AT&T, which began building out its LTE network later, covered 74 million people as of the end of 2011.
The next iPad is expected to resort to slower network technology, including 3G, when 4G LTE is not available. The iPad has offered built-in connectivity with AT&T since the first-generation model, while both AT&T and Verizon had their own iPad 2 models available from day one of last year.
The Journal's report came after Bloomberg claimed in January that the next iPad will feature 4G LTE. That same report also said it will feature a quad-core processor and a Retina Display that will have more pixels than many high-definition televisions.
Rumors of a 4G-compatible "iPad 3" have also gained steam after pictures of new LTE micro-SIM cards from AT&T emerged last month. Apple's current iPhone and 3G-capable iPad use micro-SIM cards.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
Paging Captain Obvious.
I'll wait until Digitimes confirms.
Too much evidence pointing toward 4G. It's bound to be in the iPad 3
Edit: Now you can take a small breath and wait until Wednesday.
Now all of you can take a deep breath.
Too much evidence pointing toward 4G. It's bound to be in the iPad 3
Doubt it... Ill believe it when I see it.
I'll wait until Digitimes confirms.
Have the chips gotten better? Regardless, those issues are less important on a tablet with a bigger form factor and better battery life.
Yeah, they are using the 28nm process now. I'd say they are more power efficient than the '3G' chips used in the iPhone 3G in 2008. Meaning, you'll lose a few hours in usage time over '3G' but it will still better than what the iPhone 3G got. Of course, that is all conjecture on my part so take it was a grain of salt.
Now all of you can take a deep breath.
Too much evidence pointing toward 4G. It's bound to be in the iPad 3.
Either that or all the people holding Apple puts are spreading rumors so the stock will drop when Apple doesn't meet them on Wednesday.
Mightn't that lend some greater credence to the rumor?
Makes sense. I mean, the reason the 4S didn't have 4G is the 4G chips at the time added bulk (werent they separate chips?) and devoured battery. Have the chips gotten better? Regardless, those issues are less important on a tablet with a bigger form factor and better battery life.
Actually battery life is and allays will be an issue. No matter how much they improve the chip set pushing data into free space requires power and the faster the data the more power required.
In any event I'm expecting LTE support in iPad 3. How exactly it is implemented via the carriers is another thing. By this I mean do we pay extra, and do we get the option of being just 3G support.
The other interesting thing here is the mention of quad cores. That could mean CPU's or it could mean GPU's or both. Frankly I suspect GPU's cores will increase as an imperative to drive the retina display, but it would be nice if we also got more CPU cores.
Still with all these rumors there has been no mention of RAM which is critical to making this all work well.
But that opens the door for an LTE iPhone!!!
I didn't know Taco Bell was a valid source of Apple rumors.
LMAO!! I almost spit out my Mountain Dew all over my iMac reading that!!
Actually battery life is and allays will be an issue. No matter how much they improve the chip set pushing data into free space requires power and the faster the data the more power required.
In any event I'm expecting LTE support in iPad 3. How exactly it is implemented via the carriers is another thing. By this I mean do we pay extra, and do we get the option of being just 3G support.
The other interesting thing here is the mention of quad cores. That could mean CPU's or it could mean GPU's or both. Frankly I suspect GPU's cores will increase as an imperative to drive the retina display, but it would be nice if we also got more CPU cores.
Still with all these rumors there has been no mention of RAM which is critical to making this all work well.
Yes, battery drain will always be present, but in a device such as the iPad, the drain is less of an impact than in a smaller device such as the iPhone.
Also, for all your love of RAM, RAM also eats battery power. RAM is cheap, and I think Apple's engineers know more about the situation that you. More isn't always better. Remember, the device is built for the benefit of the majority of normal users.
Really one of the major LTE chip set providers announced a couple of weeks ago availability of a chip set that would be almost ideal for the iPad. The timing of the announcement should have sent up red flags for anybody following iPad development. Now that doesn't guarantee LTE in the next iPad but it does mean the capability to be in the machine is there.
Actually battery life is and allays will be an issue. No matter how much they improve the chip set pushing data into free space requires power and the faster the data the more power required.
In any event I'm expecting LTE support in iPad 3. How exactly it is implemented via the carriers is another thing. By this I mean do we pay extra, and do we get the option of being just 3G support.
The other interesting thing here is the mention of quad cores. That could mean CPU's or it could mean GPU's or both. Frankly I suspect GPU's cores will increase as an imperative to drive the retina display, but it would be nice if we also got more CPU cores.
Still with all these rumors there has been no mention of RAM which is critical to making this all work well.
A few weeks ago was too late, at that time iPad 3s were already being manufactured or do you think they can make several million iPads available overnight?
I'm not too excited for LTE on an iPad.
But that opens the door for an LTE iPhone!!!
it would make sense that ipad3 includes LTE, though might be in small portion of deployment of ipad3. so apple could pilot testing Qualcomm LTE chipset well before iPhone LTE comes in fall.
Also, for all your love of RAM, RAM also eats battery power. RAM is cheap, and I think Apple's engineers know more about the situation that you. More isn't always better. Remember, the device is built for the benefit of the majority of normal users.
I can't wait until we start switching to the type of RAM that only powers what the system is using at any given time. Then we can have terabytes of RAM and not worry that it'll suck the battery down to an hour at a time.
it would make sense that ipad3 includes LTE, though might be in small portion of deployment of ipad3. so apple could pilot testing Qualcomm LTE chipset well before iPhone LTE comes in fall.
Yep... exactly!
Isn't it easy enough for someone with the interest (ie, rumor bloggers) to be looking into 4g radio manufacturers / suppliers for huge recent increase in production / shipment volumes?
Mightn't that lend some greater credence to the rumor?
Business analysts use appleinsider, macrumors, and ifixit as sources for AAPL.
Besides there is exactly two manufacturers. Broadcom and Qualcomm. Their parts are exactly the same parts that are in competing devices.
What non-tech people forget is that Qualcomm's Gobi chips are used by the iPhone, here's what else does:
http://www.m2msearch.com/devicesearc..._one%5B%5D=LTE
MDM9200 and MDM9600.
http://www.qualcomm.com/media/releas...m-4g-lte-conne
Note that is a November 2011 press release. It first sampled those in November 2009.
So there has been plenty of time to design, test and manufacture devices that can use them. It's not like each device is engineered overnight.
The 9600 has the Verizon/Sprint legacy 2G network, and the 9200 does not. So for European models that don't need to support 2G CDMA, Apple may opt to use the 9200 instead of the 9600.
The current chip is the 6610 in the 4S, the Verizon iPhone 4 had the 6600.
The Droid 4 is using the MDM9600, so that means the chip is available.
I already have one at home and I love it!