Apple Gearing Up for 'iPad 2 Plus' Release Later This Year?

[touchtone561]

The 7 inch iPad Nano

if there is another iPad it will be some different form factor.

Probably the 7 inch that was NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN cause Steve said so. But then again "A ship that leaks at the top" isn't any good either, so he would've said there wasn't one on the way anyways.

It will have need the high res screen to help with translation.

Either that or I was a sucker to buy the iPad 2 this April, oh well whatever - bring it!

 

[Blacklabel34]

Im sure glad I stuck with my original iPad

"This is the year of the iPad 2." -Steve Jobs

^ You didn't hear correcty
SJ didn't say just one iPad would come out in 2011. He said, "2011, Year of the iPad2 *cough*iPad2S*cough*

Anyways, HOW is this news to everyone? There was rumors regarding a release of a newer iPad right when the iPad2 was released. How quickly do people forget.

 

[NT1440]

I understand that tech moves quickly but they could have gone ahead and placed the same camera and screen they've got on the iPhone 4 in the latest iPad. .

LOL...no, just no.

First off, the thickness of the iP4 camera means it won't fit in the current confinements of the iPad 2.

As for the yield rate of up to snuff "Retina" level 9.7" inch screen manufacturing (and therefore pricing) when the iPad 2 was original released, well this just makes me think that you don't really follow the developments in the technology world.

 

[hissyfit]

Why are we LOL?

LOL...no, just no.

First off, the thickness of the iP4 camera means it won't fit in the current confinements of the iPad 2.

As for the yield rate of up to snuff "Retina" level 9.7" inch screen manufacturing (and therefore pricing) when the iPad 2 was original released, well this just makes me think that you don't really follow the developments in the technology world.

You are rude.

 

[NT1440]

You are rude.

I'm not sure how that was rude.

I'm just laughing at your assertion that something could be done easily, that simply cannot be done with the physics in this known universe.

 

[tekker]

We've been hearing these rumors about an "iPad 3 in September," for months. Why is everyone acting so surprised? Plus, it's not even a major upgrade to warrant buying another over your present iPad 2.

If you're really that afraid that you'll get left in the dust, I'm sure you can still sell your iPad right now for more than you bought it for.

 

[twoodcc]

i don't think another iPad will be released this year. maybe a bigger iPod Touch though

 

[hissyfit]

come on...

LOL...no, just no.

First off, the thickness of the iP4 camera means it won't fit in the current confinements of the iPad 2.

As for the yield rate of up to snuff "Retina" level 9.7" inch screen manufacturing (and therefore pricing) when the iPad 2 was original released, well this just makes me think that you don't really follow the developments in the technology world.

I'm not sure how that was rude.

I'm just laughing at your assertion that something could be done easily, that simply cannot be done with the physics in this known universe.

"LOL... no, just no" read's incredibly condescending and most would read it and think ,this person is making fun. I know sarcasm well because I do it well. This just read mean. I'm over it anyway. peace

 

[urbanlung]

please no iPad 3 in fall.

A yearly upgrade cycle is perfect. You can buy your kit confident in the fact that it won't be out of date almost on arrival. If Apple were to reduce it's refresh cycle to six months consumers would forever be in the 'I'll wait till the new model comes out' frame of mind, or if they actualy bought a device they would almost immediatly suffer buyers remorse as the rumors of the impending upgrade flood in. If you make your refresh cycle to short it falls within the consumers window of uncertainty and they will never feel fully confident or relaxed in their purchases.

 

[tekker]

A yearly upgrade cycle is perfect. You can buy your kit confident in the fact that it won't be out of date almost on arrival. If Apple were to reduce it's refresh cycle to six months consumers would forever be in the 'I'll wait till the new model comes out' frame of mind, or if they actualy bought a device they would almost immediatly suffer buyers remorse as the rumors of the impending upgrade flood in. If you make your refresh cycle to short it falls within the consumers window of uncertainty and they will never feel fully confident or relaxed in their purchases.

You bought an iPad 2, not the exclusivity to own the up-to-date product for x amount of time. As long as Apple continues to make more money, they'll do as they please.

 

[Slurpy2k8]

It seems like, lately, Apple has really likened their products to the literal fruit. You can't even start to enjoy them before the company releases a better tasting . It is so frustrating . Why not just release a full product instead of releasing half a product and then the other half of the product 5 months later. It is clear that Apple is very greedy.

I'll be very annoyed if I just paid $700+ for them to re-release a better product naming it something like "iPad 2 plus".

Yeah, you must be so frustrated! Let's all get outraged over unsubstantiated rumors that for all we know are complete ********! Even if this turns out to be true, when the hell was the last time an iOS device was updated twice in one year? What the hell are you talking about? Every single company does this EXCEPT for Apple, who stick to yearly updates for major releases. Yet, there's people like you who want to get outraged anyway, based on some fantasy you have in your head that doesn't reflect reality. How sad.

 

[MattInOz]

if there is another iPad it will be some different form factor.

Probably the 7 inch that was NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN cause Steve said so. But then again "A ship that leaks at the top" isn't any good either, so he would've said there wasn't one on the way anyways.

It will have need the high res screen to help with translation.

Either that or I was a sucker to buy the iPad 2 this April, oh well whatever - bring it!

Just because he ruled out 7inch doesn't mean they can't do an 8inch.
Which (well 7.9inch) would be the same screen density as the original iPhone. Call it iPad nano....
iPad apps would run with no modification and seeing the recommended smallest control is still 44px the users touch target will be a bit smaller but no smaller than the iPhone.

If that happened then to iPad3 would be released at same time with 9.7inch 162dpi screen. Given apps the chance to make use of more real estate.
Then iPad 4 could go retina.

 

[hissyfit]

ummm..

Yeah, you must be so frustrated! Let's all get outraged over unsubstantiated rumors that for all we know are complete ********! Even if this turns out to be true, when the hell was the last time an iOS device was updated twice in one year? What the hell are you talking about? Every single company does this EXCEPT for Apple, who stick to yearly updates for major releases. Yet, there's people like you who want to get outraged anyway, based on some fantasy you have in your head that doesn't reflect reality. How sad.

Who is outraged? Huge difference between outraged and annoyed.

 

[hissyfit]

Yeah, you must be so frustrated! Let's all get outraged over unsubstantiated rumors that for all we know are complete ********! Even if this turns out to be true, when the hell was the last time an iOS device was updated twice in one year? What the hell are you talking about? Every single company does this EXCEPT for Apple, who stick to yearly updates for major releases. Yet, there's people like you who want to get outraged anyway, based on some fantasy you have in your head that doesn't reflect reality. How sad.

Dude... relax. read my other posts and I quote, "I love Apple and I love all my Apple gear. I typically don't post here usually I just read (that and my grammar sucks). Today however, this article rubbed me the wrong way. A rumor is a a rumor until it becomes a fact. Just a little venting is all"

 

[Slurpy2k8]

Who is outraged? Huge difference between outraged and annoyed.

Your entire post was a rant, about how frustrated you are and how greedy apple is. I'm asking you what the hell is frustrating you? The fact that something MIGHT happen? You sound as if apple has a history and habit of what the one-upping their products a couple months after launch, which is utterly divorced from reality. Grow up, and start being annoyed by things that DO happen, instead of things that may or may not happen (and in this case, almost certainly won't). Your entire post is pretty much rubbish.

 

[hissyfit]

Your entire post was a rant, about how frustrated you are and how greedy apple is. I'm asking you what the hell is frustrating you? The fact that something MIGHT happen? You sound as if apple has a history and habit of what the one-upping their products a couple months after launch, which is utterly divorced from reality. Grow up, and start being annoyed by things that DO happen, instead of things that may or may not happen (and in this case, almost certainly won't). Your entire post is pretty much rubbish.

your's is a rant. mine was a comment.

 

[charlituna]

I admit I may be wrong, but apple doesn't NEED to play launch one every six months.

Indeed. Especially when you consider that they are doing a major software update at this six month mark with the whole cloud service etc.

there have been no rumors of anyone being able to make an ipad sized retina display unit and frankly there's little reason for one. Text etc is already rather crisp. Double wouldn't hurt but with no 1080 video to support, 4 times the pixels is just overkill at this point, particularly when you consider the potential negative effect on battery. The biggest display improvements they need are better brightness, a not so glossy screen and a more sensitive ambient light sensor.

Add to this a better battery, better camera, perhaps a faster processor and more RAM. Maybe a shift to 32/64/128 storage, more sensitive touch screen etc.

None of which has had even a slim rumor in regards to components etc. Which likely would have started if they were going to release something this year.

WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY introduce their new iPhone, iPods, and iPads at the exact same time every year? That without a doubt would cause some buyers to buy up on one product instead of buying multiple over the course of a year.

Not to mention the logistic nightmare on the store level. I can't see them doing it and wasting two opportunities for press.

if there is another iPad it will be some different form factor.

Probably the 7 inch that was NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN cause Steve said so.

And it won't happen. Nor will a 5 inch iPad.

What might happen is the ipod touch moving to of those sizes. Using the same iphone/ipod apps autoscaled up to fit etc. And that could be the device that the rumors are really talking about. but they are assuming that it is an ipad rather than an ipod touch because to them anything that isn't the current ipod touch size simply must be an ipad

 

[tom vilsack]

How about calling it "ipad 2 nbb"....

 

[Wolfpup]

Hmm...the rumored higher resolution screen is the only thing I can think of, unless they bump it to 4 CPUs and 4 GPUs, or maybe more realistically if they bump it to 1GB...

Yeah, 1GB + a 4x higher resolution screen (is such a thing possible?) would actually be a substantial upgrade.

I have to admit I like the higher resolution iPod screen, considering how close to your face you hold these things.

On PCs I prefer "lower" resolutions since Windows/OS X don't have true resolution independence, but at least on the iPod 4 the way they do it it really doesn't affect anything negatively, and does look better for reading say an ebook (hmm...actually I'd rather see a Nook/Kindle with 4x the resolution, come to think of it).

Of course I can still make out pixels :laugh:

 

[Andrew K.]

I really need to become an analyst so I can make up random "facts" and get paid MIRRIONS OF DOLL HAIRS!!!

Let's look at this seriously...

Updating before the yearly cycle: Nope. Not only would it piss off iPad 2 buyers, but they can't even get them in the store fast enough. I work at a big retailer who sells them and we get them in rarely and randomly. Our stock is barley leveling out. Also, people keep saying "well they need to catch up to the exploding tablet market". Really? Against who? The HP Touch Pad? The galaxy tab? Sure it's competion and choice but they aren't hitting numbers like the iPad. We saw how apple reacted to the market with the iPhone. ONE YEAR AT A TIME.

Add a retina display: Sure they could, but a marginal upgrade in between the real upgrade? That's basically what the iPad 2 is anyway. Like many have said on here already, it's not a smart move business-wise and they should save the selling aspect for the iPad 3.

iPad Plus: So the analyst also guesses what Apple's name branding strategy too?

Also Apple has ordered many more iPad 2s to meet demand.

All in all this rumor has spiraled a bit too far, and looking at the big picture of upgrading gadgets every 6 months is sickening.

 

[MattInOz]

I really need to become an analyst so I can make up random "facts" and get paid MIRRIONS OF DOLL HAIRS!!!

Let's look at this seriously...

Updating before the yearly cycle: Nope. Not only would it piss off iPad 2 buyers, but they can't even get them in the store fast enough. I work at a big retailer who sells them and we get them in rarely and randomly. Our stock is barley leveling out. Also, people keep saying "well they need to catch up to the exploding tablet market". Really? Against who? The HP Touch Pad? The galaxy tab? Sure it's competion and choice but they aren't hitting numbers like the iPad. We saw how apple reacted to the market with the iPhone. ONE YEAR AT A TIME.

Supply side constraint would, to me, be the best reason to make another size so you can source new parts from a different production lines and get two factories that don't compete with each other for major parts. Also reduces the need to be consistent between independent factories.

That way they can service more demand on the customer side plus grow more due to the additional options.

 

[Andrew K.]

Supply side constraint would, to me, be the best reason to make another size so you can source new parts from a different production lines and get two factories that don't compete with each other for major parts. Also reduces the need to be consistent between independent factories.

That way they can service more demand on the customer side plus grow more due to the additional options.

I'm all for additional options like a 7" iPad just upgrading the screen so soon in the 2 is a bit ridiculous to me.

 

[Hell0W0rld]

If they barely can keep up with demand now, why would they release a new super hot product right at the start of the x-mas shopping season? Doesn't add up.

They are going to release a new super hot product right at the start of the x-mas shopping season -> Iphone 5.

 

[miografico]

I'm pulling for a iPad Pro with a higher-res (retina like) display and a switchable Wacom screen to allow either touch input and allow for touch to be disabled to use Wacom tech.

However, if this iPad Plus comes to fruition, it is most likely going to be a small spec change, going to Sprint radios or something like that.

As a bit of an amateur artist myself (hobby) I would absolutely love that and probably sell my little 12in Cintiq. But, it's never going to happen for the following reasons:

1.) One reason is that a Wacom digitizer would increase the thickness of the device to the extreme that Apple would find completely unacceptable with their whole millimeter mantra.

2.) Wacom has an outright monopoly on hardware based pen tablets and digitizer boards for the creative industry and isn't going to make a deal with Apple that would be cost effective for either party. They are king in an industry thats willing to pay a premium for this type of tech and they won't be handing Apple custom digitizer boards for pennies on the dollar.

3.) Apple has a pending patent for their own stylus with pressure sensitivity. Whether this will ever be released or not remains to be seen, but if it even has 256 levels of pressure I doubt I would use Sketchbook Pro on anything else, but the iPad ever again.

 

[Neodym]

No burning need to release another iPad given how fast they are selling unless they are hell-bent on cornering the market with a blistering upgrade pace at the risk of decreasing their maximum profit by too frequently investing in new technology, not allowing current technology to reduce in production cost while still selling acceptably, etc.

The latter is exactly an argument for the credibility of this rumor! According to other news/rumors, Apple still struggles to meet demand for the iPad 2 and therefore wants to involve more manufacturers/suppliers.

And now they could kill two birds with one stone:

By keeping the components mostly the same and just sliding in - say - a HD display and a little more ram (and maybe a pin-compatible faster processor), they could increase the total number of most components in the iPad and thus lower the costs because of economies of scale, which may counterbalance higher costs for the new components. The manufacturing process would stay the same, only that the new suppliers could start to include the new components right from the start.

That way they'd have an interim update for the customers (taking away pressure from the iPad 2) and against competition - at the same price point!

The current iPad 2 could be offered at a lower price point (e.g. 100$ down) and compete with lower cost offers by the competition. Apple said at the introduction of the iPad, that they would still have room for breathing pricewise and there has been a rumor recently that Apple approached suppliers for lower component prices.

Some people might argue that a potential iPad 2 HD without improved GPU would be slower on high-end-games due to a retina-like display, but except for a small slowdown on few game applications, the current GPU is absolutely capable of driving a HD display (9-fold performance improvement over iPad 1 vs. 4-fold resolution improvement if a HD display would have to be driven). Gamers might then stick to the entry-level iPad 2 and would probably be happy with the lower price point anyway!