Is the crew in Cupertino already testing out the next generation of the iPad, expected to be unveiled on Wednesday? Well, yes, of course they are.
New evidence, however, appears to prove it — along with the existence of a new version of Apple's iOS mobile operating system. A Friday report from Ars Technica suggests that Apple employees are already browsing the Web with the yet-to-be-released iPad 3, running iOS 6.
Upon checking their server logs while preparing a browser stat report, employees at the tech website discovered hundreds of visits from a device with a rare screen resolution of 2048-by-1536. For those who haven't been keeping up with the rampant rumors about the iPad 3, that's the exact resolution of the new Retina Display expected to be included in the next-gen tablet.
And, beyond seeming to confirm that Apple employees are testing the new iPad, which should really be obvious by now, the logs showed something even more interesting — the log entries in question show references to an iPad running "OS 6_0," likely indicating that Apple employees are also testing iOS 6.
"We don't think Apple plans to release iOS 6 along with a new iPad this month, but it seems clear that the next major version of the operating system is on the way," the site speculated, adding that Apple may preview the new OS at its event on March 7.
Apple this week officially sent out invites for the event, telling invitees that the company has "something you really have to see. And touch." Be sure to click back to PCMag next week for all the details of the announcement and our live blog from San Francisco. Until then, you can read the latest rumor roundup about what the next-gen iPad might include.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPad 2 and the slideshow below.