Apple's next-generation iPad might make its debut in early February, Japanese site Mackotakara (via Google Translate) has claimed.
We're in the thick of iPad rumor season, where tidbits about an updated Apple tablet tend to run the gamut from outlandish to obvious. Since Apple typically updates products on a one-year cycle, a launch around February or the following couple of months is a very safe assumption. The iPad 2 was unveiled on March 2, 2011, and the first iPad went on sale April 3, 2010.
Apple released the third version of the developer beta of iOS 5.1 last week, and iMore said it contains two mentions of the iPad 3, codenamed J1AP and J2AP.
Digitimes previously alleged that Apple was working on a pair of iPad 3 prototypes dubbed J1 and J2. iMore said the codenames probably refer to a Wi-Fi and 3G (or 4G perhaps) version of the tablet.
Of course, Digitimes on Tuesday weighed in yet again about the rumored device, claiming that Apple is steadily stepping up orders for 9.7-inch 2,048-by-1,536 resolution panels. It said this ramp up began in the fourth quarter of 2011 and will reach as much as 7 million panels by the first quarter of 2012, soaring to 10 million by this summer.
As Apple prepares to launch a third iPad, it's winding down shipments of panels for the iPad 2, Digitimes also said. These will fall to 10 million units in the fourth quarter of Apple's fiscal 2011, and to 7 or 8 million in the first quarter of 2012, at which point shipments of iPad 3 panels will overtake those of its predecessor.
Are there any diamonds of truth be culled from the latest Apple rumors? There have been multitude reports discussing the day Apple might launch the iPad 3, varying from a March launch, to a January reveal featuring two iPads, to an unveiling planned for Steve Jobs' birthday.
As far as what the next iPad will include, reports suggest a quad-core processor, as well as LTE wireless functionality, and a new display with higher resolution.
At this point two things are certain: Apple won't comment and rumors will persist until the new iPad appears.