Bloomberg: LTE-capable iPad 3 production underway, to launch in March

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014


Rumors surrounding Apple's upcoming iPad 3 have been swirling as an expected March launch date quickly approaches, and now sources say the yet-to-be-announced tablet will include LTE and be made by Chinese manufacturer Foxconn.



Citing information from three Chinese sources close to the matter, Bloomberg on Friday said that the iPad 3 entered mass production earlier in January, and Apple's Chinese manufacturing partners are working around the clock to get the highly-anticipated product out by March.



One of the sources claims that manufacture is quickly ramping up and should reach full volumes by February. Factories are expected to take a break during China's Lunar New Year, and will hit peak capacity shortly following the holiday.



Sources also corroborated previous rumors that the iPad 3 will feature a new quad-core processor, LTE functionality and a high-resolution Retina Display that has more pixels than some high-definition TVs.



LTE compatibility has been rumored since a line of code was found in GSM iPhone 4 and iPad 2 builds of iOS 5, and there have been ongoing rumblings of a Retina Display being developed akin to the one found on the iPhone 4.



Apple has yet to announce any work on a new processor, but Samsung is expected to supply the company with a next-generation A6 quad-core CPU that was rumored to be in testing since August 2011.



The company refused to comment on availability, but rumors of a March release have remained stable and pictures of alleged parts for the tablet continue to crop up.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 49
    ... Oh Joy. Proud owner of iPad 1 and 2. Can't wait till this things announced! Retina display will be beautiful.
  • Reply 2 of 49
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Sweetness. LTE launch in Austin just in time. Any bets if T will continue to honor the unlimited?
  • Reply 3 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    Sweetness. LTE launch in Austin just in time. Any bets if T will continue to honor the unlimited?



    T as in Mr. or T as in −Mobile?
  • Reply 4 of 49
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    T as in Mr. or T as in −Mobile?



    AT&T's ticker = T



    And damn it if I didn't waste all those Internet bits and more.
  • Reply 5 of 49
    Double res, LTE, quad core, 30 min battery life... \



    ::extreme sarcasm::



    I am looking forward to the next iteration. I'd be happy with the current gen but with the new one likely only 2-3 months out I'm in no rush. I don't plan on replacing it every year like a few people around here, so just looking for the best bang for the buck.
  • Reply 6 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    Sweetness. LTE launch in Austin just in time. Any bets if T will continue to honor the unlimited?



    LTE is a different plan, so you would have to jump off the 3G unlimited into one of the new plans. I'm not positive if you would have to because you purchase an LTE device or if you would only have to if you want to take advantage of LTE speeds though.
  • Reply 7 of 49
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Don't forget iPad 3 3G will also be a world mode product. Surprised AI didn't mention that.



    So only 12 models this time instead of 18, which is good news for Apple and its customers.
  • Reply 8 of 49
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    Sweetness. LTE launch in Austin just in time. Any bets if T will continue to honor the unlimited?





    I did not know there was ever an unlimited plan for iPad. I have unlimited for my iPhone and my AirCard in my MacPro but only the $15 dollar a month plan for my iPad.
  • Reply 9 of 49
    shompashompa Posts: 343member
    Apple wants to use LTE as soon as possible since they don't have to pay Nokia for it. With 28nm manufacturing the battery penalty is gone.



    Its fun how the article thinks that Samsung is going to provide A6 and links to an article that TSMC had a trial run in August. It's technically impossible to take one tape out and use it on another foundry. Either the rumors about trial run at TSMC are false or the rumors about Samsung is false.



    I read in june that Apple got back test wafers from TSMC from a site with good foundry knowledge. With one re-spin a trial run in August is plausible.



    The most interesting will be to see what graphic core Apple will use. I would guesstimate that its PowerVR Rouge: about 10 times faster then the graphics in A5. A much needed boost for Retina display.



    With Quad Core ARM15 + PowerVR Rouge the average uses will have faster Ipad3 then their desktop PC. Its time for these people to ditch their PCs and hook up an HDMI cable to Ipad + bluetooth keyboard = you have the future of computing. Especially since Apple is Merlin iOS/OSX. (something that was reported on Hardmac in April/May 2010)
  • Reply 10 of 49
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    LTE is a different plan, so you would have to jump off the 3G unlimited into one of the new plans. I'm not positive if you would have to because you purchase an LTE device or if you would only have to if you want to take advantage of LTE speeds though.



    I used to have unlimited 3G for my AirCard in my MBP but I just upgraded to the LTE version and I called AT&T about that exact issue and they said the unlimited plan is grandfathered in and although my old sim works fine the tech support rep said I should get a new 4G sim. Since LA is getting LTE very soon I may find out the hard way but right now I get HSPD+ just fine.
  • Reply 11 of 49
    shompashompa Posts: 343member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    Double res, LTE, quad core, 30 min battery life... \



    ::extreme sarcasm::



    I am looking forward to the next iteration. I'd be happy with the current gen but with the new one likely only 2-3 months out I'm in no rush. I don't plan on replacing it every year like a few people around here, so just looking for the best bang for the buck.



    28nm manufacturing take care of LTE and the SoC battery problem. Double resolution in its self does not require more power. Only if Apple uses dual back lights.



    Since Apple have given Sharp over half a billion to manufacture displays for them its a good guesstimate that Apple don't have to play around with dual back lights



    =

    no more battery is required.
  • Reply 12 of 49
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    LTE is a different plan, so you would have to jump off the 3G unlimited into one of the new plans. I'm not positive if you would have to because you purchase an LTE device or if you would only have to if you want to take advantage of LTE speeds though.



    I still have unlimited on the iPhone from my iPhone 1 days. They did grandfather that from Edge to 3G. There a chance. I guess if they don't it'll give me the clearance to shop carriers.
  • Reply 13 of 49
    2oh12oh1 Posts: 503member
    I won't be surprised at all if it's just a modest update. Perhaps an iPad 2S. And I don't mean that in a bad way.



    People on the internet freaked out when there was no iPhone 5 last year, but look at the sales figures for the iPhone 4S. They've been through the roof.



    Don't get me wrong... I'd love to see an awesome iPad update, but if Apple thinks there's a serious iPad competitor on the way (one that doesn't have to sell below cost to attract buyers), it might make sense to launch a big update to the iPad and steal any wind from the competitor's sails.
  • Reply 14 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shompa View Post


    The most interesting will be to see what graphic core Apple will use. I would guesstimate that its PowerVR Rouge: about 10 times faster then the graphics in A5. A much needed boost for Retina display.



    With Quad Core ARM15 + PowerVR Rouge the average uses will have faster Ipad3 then their desktop PC. Its time for these people to ditch their PCs and hook up an HDMI cable to Ipad + bluetooth keyboard = you have the future of computing. Especially since Apple is Merlin iOS/OSX. (something that was reported on Hardmac in April/May 2010)



    My bets are on a quad-core Cortex-A9 with a PowerVR SGX543MP4+, both of which double the cores of the Apple A5 SoC, most likely using a smaller process (32nm?)



    Of course, I'd love to see a quad-core Cortex-A15 with PowerVR SGX600 series ('Rogue' not 'Rouge'), but I imagine Apple will probably offer that in 2013 at the earliest.



    I would think Apple would start out with a dual-core Cortex-A15.



    Even this is faster and uses less power than a quad-core Cortex-A9 -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_wwgTMcGXI



    Also see --

    http://www.electronista.com/articles...gx600.details/

    http://www.intomobile.com/2011/02/22...et-crazy-fast/

    http://www.itproportal.com/2011/02/1...gpx-fill-rate/

    http://www.itproportal.com/2011/02/1...graphics-leap/



    Though, I wonder about this -- ST-Ericsson NovaThor LP9600 (Nova A9600) -- http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-n...vaThor-roadmap



    This suggests a 2013 release -- http://www.anandtech.com/show/4940/q...t-architecture \

    But this says a 2012/2H release -- http://lazure2.wordpress.com/2011/11...es-from-nokia/
  • Reply 15 of 49
    I'm really looking forward to the education announcement.



    If something huge is happening - like 90% of textbooks being available for the ipad - I will honestly probably buy it.



    I mean, I love Android tablets, but Apple does have a ton of influence and hopefully they can make something like that happen. If they don't make some major announcement like that, I'll probably buy one of the new Asus or Lenovo Tegra 3 tablets coming out.



    And yes I know I can pirate PDF versions of books, but sometimes that comes with messed up formatting and they aren't available for every book.



    I guess it depends if I can justify it as an investment, rather than a toy.



    We'll see
  • Reply 16 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 2oh1 View Post


    I won't be surprised at all if it's just a modest update. Perhaps an iPad 2S. And I don't mean that in a bad way.



    People on the internet freaked out when there was no iPhone 5 last year, but look at the sales figures for the iPhone 4S. They've been through the roof.



    Don't get me wrong... I'd love to see an awesome iPad update, but if Apple thinks there's a serious iPad competitor on the way (one that doesn't have to sell below cost to attract buyers), it might make sense to launch a big update to the iPad and steal any wind from the competitor's sails.



    I, too, expect something akin to a 2S sort of update, despite rumours to the contrary. I do think that if in fact that is the case, all the talk of Retina Displays, etc. really is unfair to Apple.



    Apple has simply not said that the next iPad would have such technology. As such, the test of whether or not Apple delivers a decent product is not how close the new version is to what it is rumoured to be. Apple can't disappoint because Apple is not the source of all the wild speculation. No promises have been made, not a single one.



    Seems to me that it's important to remember this because, let's face it, there is an expectation that has been created by sources outside the company for which Apple is in no way responsible. If, when the next iPad is unveiled either late next month or some time in March, we get a lighter version of the current from factor with an upgraded processor, this is not bad news.



    My belief is that Apple will increase the resolution of the iPad screen when it becomes possible to do so with absolutely no penalty in terms of weight, speed, battery life and most of all price. If to deliver the higher resolution, those other items have to take a hit, Apple will have helped the competition finally catch up.



    If Apple were to offer two versions, one something akin to a 2S and the other a pricer iPad3 with a high-resolution screen, my prediction is that the cheaper 2S would dramatically outsell the higher-cost version, so much so that Apple couldn't afford to stop making the 2S and the volume on the iPad 3 would be such that Apple's profits on that version would take a drastic hit.



    It would be something akin to Apple competing against itself and as a result spending a lot of time and money developing a product that Apple itself guaranteed would be a sales flop. Using US prices, offering a $500 starting point on a line of tablets is the key to Apple's success with this previously unsuccessful form factor. Tablets were tried before but others simply got it wrong. Give people an enjoyable-to-use tablet and bring it in for about $500. That, essentially, is the winning formula that has made the iPad arguably the most successful electronic device ever.



    Let's consider what an iPad 3 with the Retina Display would look like. I'm figuring something like a $649 price starting point (in the US) for the 16GB version, with $749 for the 32GB model, and $849 for the 64GB version in wi-fi only form. If you want 3G, then the pricing would be something like $749, $849, and $949.



    So, do you buy the iPad 3 for $949 or the Macbook Air for $999. That is assuming there is no price drop for the Air which is questionable because there are a lot of competitors coming in that category. It would be problematic if a 64GB iPad was the same price as the base Macbook Air.



    If you had a more affordable 2S iPad to choose from in addition to the Air which might be coming in closer to $899 before long, the top-of-the-line iPad under such a scheme would have to be considered a rather pointless product with little hope of being a popular device.



    At some point, when display technology makes a high-resolution iPad practical, Apple will likely go there. That point, however, is not likely to be March 2012.
  • Reply 17 of 49
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Carmissimo View Post


    Let's consider what an iPad 3 with the Retina Display would look like. I'm figuring something like a $649 price starting point (in the US) for the 16GB version, with $749 for the 32GB model, and $849 for the 64GB version in wi-fi only form. If you want 3G, then the pricing would be something like $749, $849, and $949.



    My guess is that Apple will not increase their basic iPad price structure.



    The entry level WiFi-only 3rd generation model -- which whatever memory, CPU and display -- will be priced at $499. It is highly unlikely that Apple would take a 30% price increase.
  • Reply 18 of 49
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Moving data, especially off chip is not power free, more data implies more power. Beyond that the GPU has more computations to make to drive all of those pixels. The move to 28nm will certainly help with some of those issues. I will be very interested though to see how Apple addresses these issues.



    All that being said what iOS devices really need is more RAM. An iPad with 2GB of RAM would be delightful.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shompa View Post


    28nm manufacturing take care of LTE and the SoC battery problem. Double resolution in its self does not require more power. Only if Apple uses dual back lights.



    Since Apple have given Sharp over half a billion to manufacture displays for them its a good guesstimate that Apple don't have to play around with dual back lights



    =

    no more battery is required.



  • Reply 19 of 49
    just_mejust_me Posts: 590member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rjbruce View Post


    LTE is a different plan, so you would have to jump off the 3G unlimited into one of the new plans. I'm not positive if you would have to because you purchase an LTE device or if you would only have to if you want to take advantage of LTE speeds though.



    You can keep your unlimited from both verizon and att
  • Reply 20 of 49
    just_mejust_me Posts: 590member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    Moving data, especially off chip is not power free, more data implies more power. Beyond that the GPU has more computations to make to drive all of those pixels. The move to 28nm will certainly help with some of those issues. I will be very interested though to see how Apple addresses these issues.



    All that being said what iOS devices really need is more RAM. An iPad with 2GB of RAM would be delightful.



    iOS does not need more team
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