iPad 2 Screen Thinner, Anti-Reflective, 1.2GHz Dual Core CPU?

[torbjoern]

Anti-reflective screen??! Is this Apple, or have I stumbled onto the wrong rumours site?

Really good news if they get it right. Glossy screens are my pet hate.

Same here - too bad I'm not an iPad user. I see it as a good sign that Apple might have rediscovered the advantages of matte displays, but I will be furious if e.g. the iPad gets a matte display and the upcoming 13 MBP doesn't even get it as an option - which would be typically in these times.

 

[theapplefreak]

I'm happy with all the rumors..except for the fact that the camera is probably going to be an iPod touch camera...WHY!? Why not an iPhone 4 camera instead?

I also hope the SD card rumor will be true. Having an SD card slot built into the iPad would make everything much easier and would totally love to use it as a photographer.

 

[abhimat.gautam]

I wish that Apple would start making computers again. Real computers.

[Comment removed due to existential issues relating to not having been typed on a real computer.]

 

[Mattsasa]

Yes. And Apple has a knack for creating things that don't exist.

I chose to compare with the PSP2 because it is MORE than capable of powering such a resolution.

EDIT: And I don't necessarily want a double resolution display. Just something that significantly increases the resolution.

true but you cant be mad at them when they are not shocking the world with there innovation,

also apple cannot increase the res without doubling it,....

k they can, it would just be stupid if they did, and they wont

 

[asleep]

Same screen res., boost memory all the way up to iphone level ... c'mon.

 

[jamesryanbell]

No increase in resolution, no care.

 

[benwizkid]

For everyone comparing the ipad to psp2 well that device is for gaming the ipad is for a variety of things. Besides apple takes advantage of its specs much more than sony every will.

 

[*LTD*]

LOL this happens before every major Apple release.

 

[karsten]

It's not about making it thinner, it's about making it LIGHTER. If you got to look at a consumer survey of people who bought a Nook or Kindle over an iPad, the iPad's weight, screen glare and price would almost certainly top the list of strikes against it.

this. hopefully they lightened the thing up

I see, but I disagree. I use my ipad several hours a day for web and email. and it is more than I could ask for.

I guess most people on this forum are spoiled with high resolution iphones Macbooks and other Macs

you realize 1024x768 is what i ran in 1999 right?

 

[Aatos.1]

Apple almost is wanting Android tablets to rule in 2011. I expected more from Apple.

Apple used to be a more balanced company. Over the last few years they seem to place a higher priority on grabbing headlines & profits at all costs.

Having refined the art of manipulating the press and the publics perception of their products, they've achieved amazing results. The influence they wield is remarkable. Especially since they tend to abuse it.

 

[341328]

Correct

This all sounds correct. I expect to see this in the final product.

It definitely won't have double screen resolution.

 

[MacTheSpoon]

If this rumor is true, I'd love to see them use this anti-glare technology in their 11" MBA, too!

 

[unlinked]

lol. I think you are then one who's infected with wishful thinking. A PREVIEW is not a beta, and yeah, I know about the press event. As I said we'll have to see what happens.
I would like Honycomb to arrive much sooner than fall, but based on experience with previous Android releases, it will take a while.

It isn't even Spring yet so I would be surprised it we had to wait until Autumn.

 

[MythicFrost]

how in the world would it make it harder for the ipad to get a retina display in the future

and its not overkill! if anything its not enough!

I'll explain:

The iPad and iPhone 4 both currently use the SGX535; if the iPad 2 was to have a retina display they'd need the SGX543MP2 which offers roughly 4x the performance of the SGX535.

If the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 use the SGX543, the iPad 3 (w/ retina) will need the SGX543MP4 to run it at the same performance as the iPad 2 and the iPhone 5, if they used the SGX543MP2, the iPad 3 would need the SGX543MP8 which is 8 GPUs...!

The MP2 is overkill for the iPhone 5 / iPad 2 (it already performs like twice as better as the SGX535), and if they're planning on an iPad with a retina display they will probably only do the SGX543. The better GPU they use now, the more powerful the GPU in the retina iPad will have to be.

 

[ciTiger]

Finally a new rumor!
I do have a life but I spent a lot of time working at the Mac this weekend and the Rumors were slow (at best...)


Those would be great news.
But too bad I was really hopping for some resolution increase on the iPad, not that Retina thing just a bit higher resolution especially to browse the web it would come in handy!

 

[ciTiger]

[Comment removed due to existential issues relating to not having been typed on a real computer.]

LOL! Were that true a lot more comments here would be removed!

 

[Mattsasa]

I'll explain:

The iPad and iPhone 4 both currently use the SGX535; if the iPad 2 was to have a retina display they'd need the SGX543MP2 which offers roughly 4x the performance of the SGX535.

If the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 use the SGX543, the iPad 3 (w/ retina) will need the SGX543MP4 to run it at the same performance as the iPad 2 and the iPhone 5, if they used the SGX543MP2, the iPad 3 would need the SGX543MP8 which is 8 GPUs...!

The MP2 is overkill for the iPhone 5 / iPad 2 (it already performs like twice as better as the SGX535), and if they're planning on an iPad with a retina display they will probably only do the SGX543. The better GPU they use now, the more powerful the GPU in the retina iPad will have to be.

EDIT: never mind what I said before, I didn't read carefully... I am wrong

 

[MattInOz]

I wish that Apple would start making computers again. Real computers.

Apple can't make "Real computers" seeing that the definition of what makes a computer "real" is that extra feature you can point to that Apple doesn't include, but doesn't help you be more productive.

It's been that way for nay on 3 decades now.

 

[Full of Win]

Everyone's so upset about the cameras not being good enough and the screen not being better. Apple is, ya know, a profit driven business and they have to pick their battles on new features or the price shoots up and everyone's pissed about that. The fact is that the critical mass of demand and supply for retina screens of the size required for the ipad has not yet been reached -- it's too expensive! Give it a year. You're all getting a little spoiled! It was only ten years ago ipods were black and white and now you all insist on res doubling or you throw a fit.

As for the camera, it's a bummer. But I'm sure it was a choice between spending the money on the cameras or glare resistant screens and thinner, faster insides. And they made the right choice, because they're primary customer focus is Kindle holdouts -- not we, the nerds with no lives who get worked up about pixels. I suppose you want a Blu-ray port on the side of the ipad too, right? Did this sound angry? I said it with nothing but love

But the iPad will look old and stale a few months after release if it does not go all out. It may cost more, but it will sell more over it's lifetime.

 

[some1uDNTknow]

I don't think most of people care about iPad 2, unless they are waiting to get one. Anyways, when are they going to refresh the iMacs and Macbook Pros?! I want Lion!!

 

[GSPice]

But the iPad will look old and stale a few months after release if it does not go all out. It may cost more, but it will sell more over it's lifetime.

I'm fairly sure Steve Jobs' analysts know best.

 

[beg_ne]

I'm really surprised this Apple/iPad/iPhone will be crushed by the competition attitude is so prevalent even on a Mac site like this.

In order for Apple to be successful they have to actually PROVE it and sell millions of devices. And in the case of the iPad they sold about 5x the average thought by analysts.

In order for the competition to destroy Apple's success in the typical geeks mind all they have to do is... announce some hardware specs 4/6/9 months in advance.

No one seems to wake up and see that the amazing specs and Apple-esque coat of paint their competitors put on these days is little more than a fragile facade that turns out to be the usual crap at closer inspection.

 

[nylonsteel]

meh - would be nice if the weight and price was reduced

 

[osx11]

Makes sense.

Due to how the apps are developed, Apple can only double the display or leave it the way it is. I still think that a "retina" display of that size would be too expensive at the moment - so it makes sense to have the same resolution. Plus, apple is making more and more profit with every ipad they sell because they are getting cheaper and cheaper to manufacture. Hence, it is in their interest to leave as many original ipad parts in tact in order to max out profits.

Processor and RAM upgrades don't surprise me and make sense.

Even with these iPad specs Apple will still dominate the market this year. And once they double the screen resolution they will be a few years ahead of everyone else.

 

[commander.data]

I'll explain:

The iPad and iPhone 4 both currently use the SGX535; if the iPad 2 was to have a retina display they'd need the SGX543MP2 which offers roughly 4x the performance of the SGX535.

If the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 use the SGX543, the iPad 3 (w/ retina) will need the SGX543MP4 to run it at the same performance as the iPad 2 and the iPhone 5, if they used the SGX543MP2, the iPad 3 would need the SGX543MP8 which is 8 GPUs...!

The MP2 is overkill for the iPhone 5 / iPad 2 (it already performs like twice as better as the SGX535), and if they're planning on an iPad with a retina display they will probably only do the SGX543. The better GPU they use now, the more powerful the GPU in the retina iPad will have to be.

That's a very interesting and true take on things. However, I think SGX543MP2 for the Apple A5 while maintaining iPad resolution is reasonable once you take into account future process improvements and clock speed changes to not require going to all the way to a SGX543MP8 when they introduce Retina Display with the iPad 3.

Apple tends to stick to similar architectures for 2 generations like ARM11 + MBX Lite lasted for 2 generations over 2 processes (90nm and 65nm) and now Cortex A8 + SGX535 also lasted for 2 generations over 2 processes (65nm and 45nm). My guess is the same will happen again. I don't believe Samsung's 32nm process is ready for production in the volumes that Apple needs yet so they'll probably stick to the 45nm process and rely on it's maturity to improve things. I believe both the Cortex A9 and SGX543 were designed for 65nm and 45nm processes in mind anyways so it's not unexpected.

So this year the Apple A5 can be dual core Cortex A9 with SGX543MP2 on a 45nm process. Next year, in line with Apple keeping the same architecture for 2 years, the Apple A6 can then be a dual core Cortex A9 with SGX543MP4 on a 32nm process. The clock speeds for both the CPU and GPU will be increased to take advantage of the 32nm process and along with increased cache sizes and faster memory can give the A6 enough performance headroom over the A5 to implement a Retina Display in the iPad 3 without taking a big hit to performance per pixel. I really don't see Apple going with a quad core Cortex A9 in the Apple A6 since it's hard to see mobile apps being able to utilize that level of parallelization especially considering Apple prefers limiting multitasking and background processes to save power and most other heavy number crunching tasks like audio/video decoding and encoding can use dedicated accelerators or otherwise use OpenCL on the GPU. As such a high clock speed dual core Cortex A9 could sense for a future Apple A6. Of course, that's a while away yet so it's really in the limit of speculation.