DigiTimes is a throw-stuff-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks kind of news org, so along with predicting that Apple will radically overhaul their iMac, iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad lineup in 2012 comes a separate report all about the iPad 3.
In the details, though, the iPad 3 report is much more interesting, because it predicts Apple will miss a March/April release window for the iPad 3 and instead launch in late summer.
According to the report, Apple is currently playing with two iPad 3 prototypes: the J1 and J2. The J1 would be similar to the iPad 2, but reportedly thinner, with a 2048 x 1536 Retina Display, a quad-core, quad-graphics A6 chip and two vertical LED backlights to help illuminate the display. The J2 is an amped up version of the J1. Apple hasn’t decided which one they’ll be launching yet.
When that launch does happen, though, expect there to be an iPhone 4S style wait between the iPad 2 and 3. In fact, mass production is only set to begin in March 2012, which will push a launch of the upgraded device into late summer.
To be honest, that makes some sense. March is close enough to Christmas that it isn’t an optimal period for Apple to launch iPads in. With iPhone launches now shifted to autumn, the summer months are wide open.
