Apple rumored to release 3rd iPad this winter, redesigned MacBook Pro in 2012

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
A flurry of new rumors suggest that Apple's true second-generation iPad may not surface until later this year, with next week's announcements possibly pertaining to an interim model. Meanwhile, a completely re-thought MacBook Pro family is said to be slated for sometime in 2012.



iPad



Acknowledging that the iPad-related rumors come from trustworthy people but are nonetheless "hard to swallow," iLounge is using informed speculation to suggest that any iPad released in the short term may not represent Apple's initial ambitions for its first major refresh of the tablet.



Its sources believe both production and component supply issues (like those Apple reportedly ran into while attempting to secure enough Retina-like displays) may have prompted the company to conceive an interim solution, which could be announced as early as next week in the form of a revised first-generation iPad with a slightly tweaked design and a front facing video camera.



As such, the publication references an AppleInsider report from last September which mentioned that Apple would race to market with a revised iPad featuring FaceTime capabilities, ahead of its traditional 12-month product cycle for iOS devices. It therefore suggest this model may be "a stop-gap measure" to fill the void ahead of the true second-generation iPad, which is unlikely to debut until later this year at the earliest.



This theory coincides with claims reported last week by AppleInsider, who was told by Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities -- an analyst who has proven sources in Apple's supply chain -- that a successive iPad 3 model would deliver a screen with Retina Display-like quality and resolution doubled to 2048x1536 via a new a 9.7 inch IPS panel with FFS (fringe-field switching) technology, which enables a wider viewing angle and clearer visual quality under in sunlight.



Kuo explained that the so-called iPad 2 expected to be announced next week isn't getting the new panel yet because of limited manufacturing yield rates. "At this point," he said, "making a high resolution and bright IPS/FFS panel is not easy and the production volume and cost couldn’t meet Apple’s requirements."



Still, iLounge isn't sure "whether Apple is going to release the iPad 1.5 now and call it the iPad 2, hold off a few months and release something dramatically better, or hold off a few months and release the iPad 1.5."



A mockup of the next 'interim' iPad, rumored for introduction next week.



"The sources strongly believe that Apple cannot possibly ship enough truly 'new' iPads to meet a late March or early April release date," the report states. "One expects that Apple will only preview the next iPad at next week’s event, then release it widely around June. A price drop for the current model would keep sales flowing until then."



There's also the possibility that Apple could next week introduce FaceTime iPads as a premium models that would supplement the existing first generation units, if production problems did indeed prevent the company from producing enough new iPads to meet overall demand for the tablet.



However, both AppleInsider and the Loop yesterday issued independently-sourced reports that suggest reports of significant delays are not accurate. Specifically, AppleInsider cited Kuo as saying that Apple partner Foxconn plans to make 4.5 to 5 million iPad 2 units in the first quarter of 2011 and 3 to 4 million units in April. By way of comparison, Apple produced 3 to 4 million units of the original iPad ahead of last year's launch in April, the analyst said.





MacBook Pro



Meanwhile, the same report acknowledges that the MacBook Pros Apple is due to launch tomorrow represent an incremental update to the existing aluminum unibody models that have been around for over two years.



"Next year is the year when Apple will introduce an all new design for the MacBook Pro product family, which is already under development at Quanta in Taiwan," the report says, reminding readers that Apple likes to overhaul the industrial design of its most popular Macs every 2 to 3 years.



A photo showing the port makeup (and new high-speed "ThunderBolt" connector) of new 13-inch MacBook Pros due tomorrow.



While no further details on that matter were reported, AppleInsider recently noted that Apple's new line of redesigned MacBook Airs are serving as an indicator for the future direction of the company's notebooks in general, with features such as instant-on, standard SSD drives, slimmer enclosures, and the omission of optical drives expected to become more prevalent in many of the models planned for future design cycles over the next 12 to 18 months.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 67
    Wow!



    Who'd have thunk?



    [facepalm]
  • Reply 2 of 67
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    These iPad rumors are getting really stupid and they don't make any sense. If Apple is not satisfied with iPad 2 before they release it then they will not release it. It is that simple. There is no reason to release a new iPad now and another one in few months.
  • Reply 3 of 67
    I got my tax refund on Feb 11. Bought a 15" 2.4 GHz MBP. Needed it. Didn't know timing has smiled on me. I have tomorrow and Friday to flip it for the new one. Don't know which way it will go yet. Tomorrow will be fun. Love this one over C2D MB. At least the MBP orgasm should climax this week. It's been building up, huh?
  • Reply 4 of 67
    I predict that this year AppleInsider will post a hundred completely baseless rumours and two dozen "predictions" so vague and long term that my neighbour's dog could have made them.
  • Reply 5 of 67
    -ag--ag- Posts: 123member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    These iPad rumors are getting really stupid and they don't make any sense. If Apple is not satisfied with iPad 2 before they release it then they will not release it. It is that simple. There is no reason to release a new iPad now and another one in few months.



    Exactly.



    But iLounge sure have milked every last drop out of the rumour sites for last min page hits.
  • Reply 6 of 67
    pokepoke Posts: 506member
    This always happens. A bunch of sites come up with rumours that are totally wrong so they come up with another set of rumours about how they were right but things got secretly delayed, etc. It happens every product announcement. It's getting kind of ridiculous now because there are just so many sites trolling for hits by turning out Apple exclusives and rumours. Maybe it's time Apple Insider started consolidating all but the most trustworthy rumours to a weekly rumour round up or something.
  • Reply 7 of 67
    -ag--ag- Posts: 123member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IronHeadSlim View Post


    I got my tax refund on Feb 11. Bought a 15" 2.4 GHz MBP. Needed it. Didn't know timing has smiled on me. I have tomorrow and Friday to flip it for the new one. Don't know which way it will go yet. Tomorrow will be fun. Love this one over C2D MB. At least the MBP orgasm should climax this week. It's been building up, huh?



    Id upgrade anyhow.



    Cant hurt either way really.
  • Reply 8 of 67
    If you believe this stuff then you need professional help. A rumor is exactly that, a rumor. Tomorrow will see another headline claiming that this false. Can we just be happy about hearing apple's announcement? Isn't that what we've been waiting for, news about the next iPad?
  • Reply 9 of 67
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    If it’s a different physical shape and internal design, then it’s a “true” second-gen in my view. More (mainly a retina display) may become practical later this year, and that would be great! But there’s always something new coming along. That doesn’t make all models “interim."



    If it’s the same old shape updated, with the same internals, then I WOULD call it an “interim” model.



    Adding a retina display sounds more like an iPad 2.5, rather than this being an iPad 1.5. (And if that does happen, doing it for holiday shopping sounds better than doing in August/September for back-to-school. November might make sense. But I’m sure it depends on when retina displays can be obtained cheaply enough, and in enough quantities.)
  • Reply 10 of 67
    Is Apple going to do a keynote for the new Macbook Pros? Or will it just be a website update?
  • Reply 11 of 67
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bregalad View Post


    I predict that this year AppleInsider will post a hundred completely baseless rumours and two dozen "predictions" so vague and long term that my neighbour's dog could have made them.



    Haha!
  • Reply 12 of 67
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    This whole 2nd gen, 3rd gen is just Apple's way of making us see it their way. Basically, regardless of what they call it or market it as it's up for you, the consumer, to decide if it's upgrade enough for you.
  • Reply 13 of 67
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    It's very easy to tell when a rumor is false. If it suggests that a new iPad will go widely on sale at the same time that a new iPhone will (June), you immediately know it is false. Apple has carefully crafted a quarterly schedule of product releases to ensure that corporate financials remain as steady as possible from quarter to quarter. Asking buyers to consider a new iPhone AND a new iPad in the same month is not going to happen, no matter how many other rumors suggest it might.



    In all liklihood they will release what we all know they will release, in April, and then POTENTIALLY release a new iPad for the Christmas season, which Apple has generally ignored recently. They just can't not release anything new in April, and they can't possibly release a double resolution iPad this soon either.
  • Reply 14 of 67
    While I can buy the idea of a bigger deal iPad 3 in the fall, it doesn't make sense that they would have an event to announce a premium iPad 1 with a three month delay on availability.



    I have to think this will be a true iPad 2 with the much rumored upgrades of facetime, thinner body, lighter and faster processor....but even that doesn't seem worthy of a full event. IOS 5 preview speculation seems reasonable.
  • Reply 15 of 67
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bregalad View Post


    I predict that this year AppleInsider will post a hundred completely baseless rumours and two dozen "predictions" so vague and long term that my neighbour's dog could have made them.



    Actually you're not that far off. Everyone will spew everything they can in the hopes something sticks. Then, in a few years when that product does have that feature, only because the tech and costs are finally feasable, these guys will come out of the woodwork to proclaim at the top of their lungs how spot-on their were in their predictions.



    It's not a matter of "if" but "when" the iPad will have a retina-like display. It's just evolutionary.



    Now... if I put on my tinfoil hat, a conspiracy could be said that the tablet competitors are purposely putting out false iPad rumors in the hopes everyone will hold off their Apple purchases.
  • Reply 16 of 67
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IronHeadSlim View Post


    I got my tax refund on Feb 11. Bought a 15" 2.4 GHz MBP. Needed it. Didn't know timing has smiled on me. I have tomorrow and Friday to flip it for the new one. Don't know which way it will go yet. Tomorrow will be fun. Love this one over C2D MB. At least the MBP orgasm should climax this week. It's been building up, huh?



    I'm pretty sure your quest will have a "happy ending."
  • Reply 17 of 67
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by allmypeople View Post




    CHAOS!! CHAOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



    News / rumors overload !!!!!!!!!!








    I don't want to worry you, but I heard a rumour (from a trusted source natch) that there are more rumours currently in production in Taiwan as we speak!
  • Reply 18 of 67
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstermac77 View Post


    Is Apple going to do a keynote for the new Macbook Pros? Or will it just be a website update?



    My guess is that it will be a silent refresh, just a web store update and a press release.



    Doing a media event for a slight incremental update does not make any sense. It devalues the whole idea/importance of a media event.
  • Reply 19 of 67
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by poke View Post


    This always happens. A bunch of sites come up with rumours that are totally wrong so they come up with another set of rumours about how they were right but things got secretly delayed, etc. It happens every product announcement. It's getting kind of ridiculous now because there are just so many sites trolling for hits by turning out Apple exclusives and rumours. Maybe it's time Apple Insider started consolidating all but the most trustworthy rumours to a weekly rumour round up or something.



    I agree. If AI can't confirm it w a second source, then stuff it in a rumor shite pile.
  • Reply 20 of 67
    So this interim iPad would only come in lighter, with a better display, albeit not retina-like, more RAM, a more powerful CPU and a better graphics engine.



    As stopgaps go, sounds rather decent. Really, though, why would Apple bother to release an update on such a product in 2011. All Apple would have to do is up the RAM to 32 gigs on the entry model and the competition would be a step behind for the rest of the year.



    Even if Apple has a retina-like display in the pipeline, it seems rather logical that this would be an upgrade that would more likely see the light of day in 2012 if not later. Certainly if the costs associated with such a display are prohibitive in March, what could possibly happen by later this year to dramatically alter that.



    Here's something else to consider. If this unfolds as reported by this site, tomorrow Apple will update their macbook pro line, including the introduction of a significant new technology, and yet Apple does not deem this announcement worthy of a formal media event. Are we led to believe, however, that a minor tweaking of the iPad would warrant such an event days later. Not a chance. If Apple figures the iPad upgrade it's going to unveil on March 2 warrants a media event, the product to be unveiled will be a significant refresh of the iPad. And forget about Apple announcing the device on March 2 and shipping it months later. Ridiculous. No way that Apple would give the competition months of lead time to respond to the next version of the iPad and it would certainly not be OK with making such an announcement and then compensating by lowering the price of the current version, still soldiering on for a few more months. If you had a hot-selling product would you cut into profit margin by announcing months in advance what the successor would offer. Obviously not.



    If the reasoning was that Apple would need to offer something to convince customers to not jump ship in the months leading up to the new product becoming available, surely that would be accomplished just as easily by simply continuing to sell the first-gen iPad with no announcement. Everybody knows in advance that the iPad 2 would be an upgrade on the iPad 1 so leaving it to consumers' imagination what that upgrade could entail, would only serve to entice consumers to wait on an announcement.



    Tomorrow the MacBook Pro gets a significant refresh and on March 2, the iPad 2 comes to market. In June we get the new iPhone and in September we'll get the new iPods. Also getting updates sooner than later will be, of course, the iMac and the Mac Mini. There will also be a Sandy Bridge Macbook Air this year. This is the line-up that Apple will take into the Christmas buying season. That's all there is and it should be plenty.



    If you're waiting for upgrades on the upgrades in calendar 2011, good luck with that.
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