Rumor: iPad HD or iPad 2 Plus for pros?
Just one more Apple rumor to round out your day: the upcoming iPad is not the iPad 3 but the iPad HD or iPad 2 Plus, according to ThisIsMyNext and Boy Genius Report. This is apparently not mere semantics as the next iPad is rumored to have a screen with double the resolution (2048 x 1536) for the creative professional, rather than for the consumer market.
Though both ThisIsMyNext and BGR come to the same conclusion that the next iPad will have a much higher-res display and not for the consumer market, they cite different sources that could lend legitimacy to this rumor. Or maybe their sources are one and the same.
BGR cites FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger's note investors that the "iPad 2 Plus" will not be a new model but "a high-end version of the iPad 2 with a better display," according to his sources. BGR makes a good point that if the next iPad could have such a screen resolution, it would make it easier for developers to port their apps from one iOS device to another.
ThisIsMyNext's anonymous sources also told Joshua Topolsky that the "iPad HD" is geared for pro users:
folks who work in video and photo production possibly — and will be introduced alongside something like an iPad version of Final Cut or Aperture. This product is specifically said to not be the iPad 3, rather a complimentary piece of the iPad 2 line. Think MacBook and MacBook Pro.
The idea that the next iPad will feature a significantly upgraded display has been floating around the Web since January. If the iPad 2 Plus/HD does sport such a hi-res screen, it would offer better resolution than the 21" iMac but in a 10.1" display according to iLounge, which sounds expensive if not battery intensive. That said, if this "iPad 2 Pro" is marketed to those who spend thousands on high end camera lenses and cameras as tools of their trade, then an iPad made just for them may not be as ridiculous as it first sounds.
But like all other Apple product rumors these days, we'll just have to wait to see what Steve Jobs unveils (or not) in September.
[Source: iLounge, ThisIsMyNext, BGR via MobileBeat]
Related:
- CNET: Report: iPad 'HD' to sit alongside iPad 2
- Rumor: iPad HD with Retina Display and Pro apps this Fall
- Apple's iPhone 5 likely to stress Foxconn
- Apple orders 15 million iPhone 5s from Pegatron, shipping in September?
- Apple rumor round-up: iPhone 5 hard to make, wireless charging coming to iPhone 6