iPad 3 rumored getting HD front, iPhone 4-level rear cameras
updated 05:10 pm EST, Thu January 5, 2012
iPad 3 camera upgrades tipped early
Talk of upgraded cameras on the iPad 3 was given unofficial support, though not confirmation, from a rumor on Thursday. The front camera would go "HD," iLounge had heard from a purported source. At the back, the camera hole size was visibly larger and supported claims that the sensor would be closer to the five-megapixel iPhone 4 or eight-megapixel iPhone 4S than the one-megapixel camera from the iPad 2.
The same contact supported beliefs that the third-generation Apple tablet would be thicker and saw it gaining roughly an extra millimeter (0.04 inches) to accommodate "new parts." These were previously said to involve dual LED backlights needed to properly light up a 2048x1536 display. The overall design wouldn't change signficantly from the iPad 2 in this implementation.
While it's unclear how much is knowledge versus speculation, the tip expected the new iPad to launch closer to the March release timeframe Apple used for the iPad 2 than some of the more optimistic rumors of January or February. Some of this was based on pure logic, as Apple wouldn't want to irritate buyers and gift recipients who had just picked up iPads weeks before.
Details of the insides weren't given, but it's been presumed that Apple will go to the A6, which could be either a faster dual-core chip or a quad-core chip, in order to smoothly drive apps on the much higher resolution display. Cellular Internet support and storage changes are still unknowns.
