Apple was apparently testing the two processors simultaneously

Feb 27, 2012 17:51 GMT  ·  By

Digging deep inside the code of Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, a blog has discovered that Apple has been testing two processor types for its next generation of iPads, seemingly confirming rumors that the iPad 3 will boast an A5X dual core chip with enhanced graphics.

For the better part of last year, major Apple blogs and technology sites have speculated that the next A-series processor in line for the iPad 3 - the A6 - would boast four processing cores.

Code strings embedded in Apple’s iOS betas seemed to confirm those talks, but recently, there has been a new discovery.

An A5X chip that reportedly boasts two processing cores, but much more graphical output power, has been tested by the Cupertino giant in prototype iPads.

The serial number assigned to this processor was also found in iOS. 9to5mac thus concluded that, “While nobody has found this 50X (A6) chip in the code until now, we can report that both next-generation processors entered the iOS code simultaneously. This would seem to indicate that Apple has been working on two next-generation chips.”

There’s always the possibility that Apple merely took the A5X on a test run to see how the hardware behaves. Then again, the same thing can be said about the A6. Maybe Apple is holding off the quad-core goodness for its fourth iPad. No one really knows for sure.

There’s even talk that the A5X is actually not for the iPad 3, but for an upcoming (and also widely rumored) Apple television product.

All in all, the two processors are now confirmed (at least in code) and, according to numerous industry reports, Apple is very likely to announce a March 7 media gathering to unveil its next tablet computer.

It’s been a full year since the last refresh, so even if the March 7 date isn't confirmed, we can still expect an announcement relatively soon.