Apple could be planning a major overhaul of most, if not all, of its products in 2012.
Citing supply chain sources, a new report from Digitimes has claimed that Apple will revamp the iPad, iPhone, iMac, and MacBook Air lines. The report did not mention the MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, Mac Pro, or the iPod, but it’s possible these gadgets will be updated too.
Digitimes said the iPad 3 will launch at the beginning of the year and production on the next-gen iPhone will begin next June. But according to the site, a frequent purveyor of Apple rumors, the iPad 3 won’t be that different from the current iPad. It said the specs of the iPad 3 are so similar to the iPad 2 that its sources believe it will be more of an intermediate upgrade.
However, if the report is true, Apple seems to be preparing for the iPad to be in hot demand. Digitimes said in a separate report that by the end of 2011, Apple will have enough iPad components in its inventory to build two million units.
Digitimes also discussed the iPad 3’s display. It said Apple will take the resolution of the iPad 3 up to 2048-by-1536. However, there have been rumors that Apple has struggled with upping the next iPad’s display. CNet last week said Apple would stick with the intermediate option of 1600-by-1200, pointing to problems with supplying enough screens and creating displays that actually have a sufficient amount of pixels packed inside.
Digitimes said the new iPhone and iMac will debut in the second half of 2012.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind with this report, however. If Apple sticks to an annual product update cycle, as is its usual habit, it’s logical to assume that the company would reveal new versions of these devices next year. Additionally, as AppleInsider noted, Digitimes has been wrong in the past. So aside from looking at rumors with a discerning eye, there’s no way to tell just how “significant” these updates will be.