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What will be in the iPad 2?

by on01 March 2011


Sources suggest improved spec
Our sources from the Apple field tell us that when the Wednesday announcement of the iPad 2 happens we can expect some big changes to the new iPad 2 that make the second offering much more powerful and robust than the previous offering.

According to our friends in Jobs land, look for the iPad 2 to use the next generation of the Cortex A9, which will likely be called the A5 by Apple and it will be a multi-core ARM chip this time around. In addition, expect a higher level of graphics horsepower with the addition of the PowerVR SGX543, which should yield about four times the graphics power than the first generation of the iPad. The SGX543 will really benefit those that use their iPads for gaming, as it will really improve graphics performance that is necessary for games.

Look for a much thinner and lighter unit that other sources are suggesting could be as much as one pound lighter than the current model. Two cameras will be included, which will allow for both pictures as well as video conferencing use with FaceTime. Some are suggesting because of the addition of the camera the unit will offer SD Card support, but it is unclear as to what all you will be able to do with SD Cards with the unit if this turns out to be true. The rumor of an improved speaker is very likely to be true, given the fact that they have redesigned the housing.

One of the most interesting rumors is the suggestion that it will include a dual GSM/CDMA chipset that will allow the unit to be used on both AT&T and Verizon. It is possible that this is correct, but it is unclear how Apple might offer this or why they would want to offer this, other than to cut production cost. While it is possible, we think it will not happen; and if it does, it will be one or the other that is enabled at the factory and there will not be the chance to actually switch between the two.

The one thing that our sources seem to feel isn’t going to happen (despite a number of rumors suggesting otherwise) is the addition of a higher-resolution retina display that would double the resolution of the device. While some clues reported in the iBooks application seems to suggest that this is something Apple might be tinkering with, we find this to be unlikely for inclusion this time around. This may be in the future, according to our sources, but the display still could be improved over the last version. We don’t suspect anything over the top this time.

We will only have to wait till Wednesday till the news becomes official. With all of the other rumors flying around it is hard to know what is going to happen. It seems like a long time till Wednesday already.
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