Apple may already be in production of its iPad 3, with a alleged launch date of February 3.
Citi analyst Richard Gardner said in a note today he believes the new iPad has overcome any technical hurdles.
Apple is apparently aiming for a whopping 2048×1536 resolution screen, and this has been where the technical troubles have sprung from. The iPad 2 by comparison has a 1024×768 screen.
This means the new iPad will theoretically be able to play native full HD movies (1080p) rather than the fake HD of 720p.
Before his death Steve Jobs was obsessed with the idea of a ‘retina display’ – a high pixel screen that was indiscernible from reality to the human eye. He claimed the iPhone 4 fulfilled this criteria – which has since been proven to be false.
The iPad range, while larger in screen size at 10 inches, still has the same problem. Packing that kind of pixel density on such small screens has been difficult – the TV screen and monitor industry has long opted to produce larger screens, rather than more dense. Sharp is producing the screens, but in this nascent market there are no forebears for any constructor to work from, and no economies of scale. Rumours have been circling for months that this has caused problems for Apple as it tries to retain a yearly upgrade cycle with the iPad.
The iPads only ‘rival’ – CBR uses that term loosely, as it is a distant second to Apple’s 83% market share – has been Samsung’s Galaxy Tab range. Samsung is rushing its newest iteration to market in attempt to beat the iPad 3 launch. It boasts a whopping 2560×1600 resolution and is expected to be formally announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 27 February.
