Two separate reports claim that Apple is set to announce the next version of the iPad in San Francisco next week.
The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital blog said that multiple sources had confirmed an Apple event on March 2 in the city. The Financial Times reported that the company has reserved the main stage at the Yerba Buena Center, the venue for the launch of the iPad last year, on that date. Neither report was able to confirm whether the event would be hosted by CEO Steve Jobs, who is currently on sick leave. While that’s unlikely, Jobs has been involved in major decisions in recent weeks and attended a meeting with President Barack Obama last week, along with other Silicon Valley CEOs.
The All Things Digital report pointed to analysts’ expectations for the specification of the new device, but was unable to confirm them. The blog has recently claimed that the iPad 2’s Apple-branded processor will be based on ARM’s 1.2GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 and Imagination’s PowerVR SGX543 graphics chip. Those are a significant step up from the Cortex-A8 single-core CPU and PowerVR SGX535 used in the Apple A4 chip which drives the iPad and iPhone 4. The Journal has also previously reported that the iPad 2 will be thinner and lighter than the current model, which would be an impressive feat, given the additional heat generated by the dual-core A9 compared to its predecessor.
The iPad’s display is expected to be improved, but it will have the same number of pixels as the current model, according to the Journal. It’s less certain about whether the new iPad will have one camera or two. Yesterday’s report claimed only that it would have a front-facing FaceTime camera, but recent reports on All Things DIgital have also cited a rear-facing camera for taking pictures and shooting video, as well as for use in augmented reality apps. The FT yesterday said only that it would ‘include a higher resolution display as well as cameras for taking photos and video chatting.’
While the iPad 2 may be announced next week, neither report gave details of when it was likely to ship. Last year the iPad was announced in January and shipped in April in the US and at the end of May in the UK.
