The iPad 3 is widely anticipated to hit store shelves in March, about a year from the date that the iPad 2 first debuted. Apple’s next-gen tabled it expected to pack a 2048 x 1536 Retina Display, an A6 SoC and (possibly) 4G LTE support. Now a new report suggests that we’re just a few short weeks away from getting our first look at the iPad 3.
According to a report from Japanese blog Macotakara, the iPad 3 launch event will take place in early February, citing sources in the U.S. and Asian supply chains saying the iPad 3 will go on sale in early March.
Last year, Apple announced the iPad 2 in early March, putting it on sale roughly a week and a half later. Why would Apple need a longer announcement window this time?
Simple. Because Apple’s jumping the resolution of the iPad 3 to Retina Display quality, Apple wants to give developers enough time to make their existing iPad apps compatible with the iPad 3 so there’s a library of Retina Display apps available at launch.
When the iPad 3 goes on sale in early March, it is also anticipated that the iPad 2 will undergo a price cut, similar to the price cuts Apple makes with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS, in order to compete with less expensive tablets like the Kindle Fire.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
