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

[Dorkington]

This is the most realistic report I've seen so far.

The "retina display" is too expensive and lacking supply right now. iPad 3 will be more likely to have that feature.

Crappy cameras = easy upgrade path for future iPads.

I like the idea of anti reflective, I hope they start getting rid of all the super glossy glass screens they've been using.

 

[jca666us]

Yeah, I'm aware that they'll be improvements and so forth and that an SGX543MP8 won't actually be necessary, but for simplicity I left that out.

I'm excited either way, I would love an SGX543MP2 as that would allow games like Infinity Blade to further improve graphics, it'd be amazing!

Well, I don't think it is. My monies on it being just a single SGX543 which is twice as powerful; why is it necessary though? whether the SGX543 or MP2, it allows more powerful graphics to be used. Infinity Blade is amazing, imagine it with even better graphics!

I guess it depends on how the a5 is designed - since apple is courting the gaming market, I'd expect to see an mp2 and a gig of ram. Especially with the NGP coming.

 

[walkie]

This kind of Apple marketing really sucks, with the addition of crappy cameras and slight updates, the iPad is becoming a real "oversized iPod", not an enjoyable multipurpose tablet, I think Android based tabs will rock this year!.

 

[maflynn]

So the question is to those who sold their iPad 1 in preparation for the iPad 2.

Is it worth the wait? A low quality camera, thinner iPad, dual core and anti-reflective?

They're nice additions, and it fits with apple's small updates. Apple has a history of taking small steps when updating its products. Once established, they slowly improve it. I don't see a radical change coming to the iPad in version 2.

I wonder how a thinner iPad along with a dual core processor is going to impact battery life. I mean there will be even less room for a batter and so they may decrease the battery size.

 

[spazzcat]

I would gladly pay 30 bucks for blockbuster PSP1-2 games and 10-20 for lesser known titles. As long as its the full game.

iOS games are nice and all, but they are mostly just to kill time. They hit the very casual gamers and no one else.

You haven't looked at some of the new stuff coming out like Aralo HD or Dead Space, etc...

 

[OllyW]

This kind of Apple marketing really sucks, with the addition of crappy cameras and slight updates, the iPad is becoming a real "oversized iPod", not an enjoyable multipurpose tablet, I think Android based tabs will rock this year!.

It's still just a rumour, the real thing might be better than you think.

 

[DudeDad]

+1

My guess is that the better resolution cameras are too thick to put into the thinner form factor. Like everything, it's a trade-off. Most probably want thinner/lighter than better cameras. If you plan to use Facetime and augmented reality apps, these cameras should be fine. A year from now, the better cameras will be thinner.

With regard to the resolution....give it a rest! I've had my iPad since April and have no complaints about resolution. Of course, resolution can always improve, but I've never complained about it. Videos/movies/games look great on it.

With regard to computers....my 3-year MacPro still runs like a champ...not sure what people expect from Apple...their computers are still great, the OS is great and will soon be upgraded...

 

[genosseinski]

it definitely has to be lighter! You can't hold the current iPad for long if you ask me.
Hope they can reduce the weight by at least 30%

 

[walkie]

It's still just a rumour, the real thing might be better than you think.

I hope so:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

 

[PJT]

This kind of Apple marketing really sucks, with the addition of crappy cameras and slight updates, the iPad is becoming a real "oversized iPod", not an enjoyable multipurpose tablet, I think Android based tabs will rock this year!.

So if that's what it is becoming, what is it now?

 

[Piggie]

My guess is that the better resolution cameras are too thick to put into the thinner form factor. Like everything, it's a trade-off. Most probably want thinner/lighter than better cameras. If you plan to use Facetime and augmented reality apps, these cameras should be fine. A year from now, the better cameras will be thinner.

With regard to the resolution....give it a rest! I've had my iPad since April and have no complaints about resolution. Of course, resolution can always improve, but I've never complained about it. Videos/movies/games look great on it.

With regard to computers....my 3-year MacPro still runs like a champ...not sure what people expect from Apple...their computers are still great, the OS is great and will soon be upgraded...

You honestly think the iPad2 will be thinner than an iPhone 4 ?

 

[jouster]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; de-de) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)



If iPad 2 comes with those specs, it won't be great for business! You could not get a reasonable scan of a single page with the low-res camera featured on the iPod touch. I have tested it for my professional purposes and it fails miserably: It can't decode barcodes on letters, only on cereal boxes etc. And forget about OCR already! The lack of cameras has held me back. This time it would be the quality.

I'm not asking for ultra high resolution, just 3 megapixel would do, approx. quadruple the screen resolution.

Is scanning and OCR something people are clamoring for on the iPad? I ask not to disagree with you but because I haven't really seen evidence of such requests. Interesting idea.

I pity the the tablet with less than 1GB of RAM in 2011.

As has been the case for a long time, the vast majority of purchasers will neither know nor care about such arcane things -- to them -- as RAM.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Why isn't anyone talking about the shotty RAM? How can a phone has 512 MB of RAM, but a "beefier that does more" have the same or less amount?

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Is scanning and OCR something people are clamoring for on the iPad? I ask not to disagree with you but because I haven't really seen evidence of such requests. Interesting idea.



As has been the case for a long time, the vast majority of purchasers will neither know nor care about such arcane things -- to them -- as RAM.

They may not know, but they will certainly be able to feel it.

 

[OllyW]

Why isn't anyone talking about the shotty RAM? How can a phone has 512 MB of RAM, but a "beefier that does more" have the same or less amount?

I suggest you read the thread, we have been talking about the RAM.

 

[blackcrayon]

This kind of Apple marketing really sucks, with the addition of crappy cameras and slight updates, the iPad is becoming a real "oversized iPod", not an enjoyable multipurpose tablet, I think Android based tabs will rock this year!.

Right, with double the cpu power and more than double the graphics power, able to run dramatically more impressive apps and games, this new iPad won't be enjoyable at all

 

[jonnysods]

These are good rumors. But I'm really pegging my hopes on the higher rez screen. I don't have an iPad yet, I've been hoping for a camera, better rez screen and a few spec bumps.

But if they don't come out with good stuff I'll just have to grab a rev A iPad for dirt cheap to tide me over until iP3...!

 

[vvebsta]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

If I was Apple I'd be working to get retina display on the iPad as soon as they knew it was going into the iPhone. There's no reason the camera can't match the iPhone 4. I think the biggest things Apple would need to focus on is weight, brighter screen in sunlight, and adding cameras. Maybe they are going to keep the same resolution but make it OLED or something so it can compete with the kindle. Also they will have to push for better battery life as always. I think it would be sweet if it was a similar style as the iPhone 4. Glass on front and back

 

[rmwebs]

Dual Core

Yes...because the iPad is slow with its current single core...

Dual Core is 100% pointless given that the current CPU handles everything fine, showing no slowdown or lag. Another pointless upgrade to sell it to the idiot who thinks it'll be faster.

 

[Piggie]

But will Devs be too frightened to take advantage of the iPad2 features for fear of bad reviews from iPad1 owners?

Will iPad1 hold back iPad2 ?

 

[andy721]

Oh it better have dual cores. If not then there's something wrong with steve jobs other then his HIV/Cancer.

Everyone else such as Android, Windows phones and tablets are up to date when it comes to dual cores.

 

[jasonph]

The numbers game ... again. <yawn>

I hold my hands up, I have an iPad 1. I would use it a lot more if the rest of the family would let me. As with all things Apple it's ideas and applications that make it such a great platform.

If you asked me what would improve it, make it a bit lighter, and faster at rendering web pages. Camera's don't bother me - I have Facetime on my iP4 and Macbook Air, as do family and friends, but I never use it (nor have I ever been bothered to use any video conferencing software) - even Skype I use with a Dect handset for convenience.

A higher res screen is way low on my list of things I think it needs. I use my iP4 on the run but the screen just isn't the size for prolonged use - I get sore eyes quickly. The iPad screen is about the right size for longer term use, even at it's current resolution - though I use my 13" Air a lot more as I rarely get a look in on our iPad.

Those who play the numbers game with Apple will be nearly always disappointed. Even their iMac's and Macbooks wouldn't be classed as cutting edge, but they are usually very well designed and built, and you pay for the quality (as you do with hifi (just plays music however much you spend), cars (still gets you form A to B), etc).

Each iteration they take an interesting or novel idea and play with it and that's their marketing strategy. And they optimise their software pretty well to make it work nicely enough on the hardware (with the exception of the PC version of itunes which is pants!).

If you just want to play numbers then some manufacturer somewhere will announce a quad core CPU with quad core GPU for some unspecified time in the future and then a week later someone else will offer a 6 core machine with an indefinite shipping date. And probably not long after that an 8 core machine.

Depends on what you can actually do with it though. And they'll always be a higher spec device around the corner so you'll never buy.

I have had all sorts of phones and machines, and Apple's are some of the cleverest designs and best built. Also I've found their tech support very helpful if I've had a question.

Would I buy an iPad 2? If I hadn't spent a fortune on a maxed out Air then yes, but I think I'll skip this iteration and see what happens next time.

 

[blackcrayon]

Arguably not worth buying even if you don't. It's been two weeks since I last used my iPad. Since I've gotten my iPhone 4, my iPad has spent more time collecting dust than anything else. I use it off and on every couple of weeks and for the occasional eBook. Thats it. Once the novelty wears off, iPad really isn't good for much unless you're addicted to apps or extremely slow web browsing. But iPad app support is "meh" at best and its frustrating that Apple and app developers try to sell you separate "HD" versions of the same app that only run at a slightly higher resolution. But at least you can jailbreak and install RetinaPad now, so you can just have your "Retina" iPhone apps run at full resolution.

I on the other hand, had the iPad before the iPhone 4. Yet I will almost *never* use the iPhone in any situation where I have the iPad handy. I can't think of a single thing I would rather do on the iPhone except make a phone call. Loading tons of pages quickly isn't the iPads forte, sure, but most of my web browsing consists of looking at what's on the page I loaded, so that's where the "bottleneck" is as far as I'm concerned.

You might have a point there with certain games where they only offer a separate "HD" version, but anything else should be using the screen real estate of the iPad for a different app, not just a scaled up one.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Yes...because the iPad is slow with its current single core...

Dual Core is 100% pointless given that the current CPU handles everything fine, showing no slowdown or lag. Another pointless upgrade to sell it to the idiot who thinks it'll be faster.

512 KB of RAM is just fine too yadda yadda yadda. If you seriously think this way, I'm truly sorry.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

But will Devs be too frightened to take advantage of the iPad2 features for fear of bad reviews from iPad1 owners?

Will iPad1 hold back iPad2 ?

Yes. It also happens with the iPhone market as well. The iPhone 4 is not being tapped to it's full potential because of the 3G/3GS. Same thing with the 3GS when it came out; the 2G and 3G held it back.

I'd also argue that the development costs are going to get higher and higher with more intensive hardware as we see in the handheld/console game arena.