14 DAY TRIAL // iPad 2x graphics found in the Twitter frameworks portion of the iOS 5 SDK provide a good indication that Apple’s next iPad will feature a Retina display capable of 2048 x 1536 output.
Previously rumored to receive Retina treatment, the iPad saw no change in screen resolution (or screen type for that matter) when the second generation model emerged earlier this year.
Word on the street was that iPad 2 would boast a Retina display much like the one found on the latest iPhones and iPod touch players.
That didn’t happen, despite the discovery of several graphical elements in iOS development software that suggested there were plans for such a move.
Meanwhile, the same iOS software development kit has been updated to version 5.0.
Handed to developers earlier this month, the iOS 5 SDK now reveals there is clearly an iPad Retina display on the roadmap at Apple. The only question is: when is the iPad 3 released?
As noted above, graphics found in the Twitter frameworks portion of the iOS 5 SDK are labeled as 2x with a 2048 x 1536 resolution.
This amount of pixels just so happens to be exactly double the resolution of the current iPad (1024 x 768), or four times the pixels, which is what a Retina display would feature.
While many believe an iPad 3 announcement could drop as early as fall 2011, we remain skeptical.
First of all, Apple is poised to release the fifth-generation iPhone in the September timeframe, and it’s unlikely that the company will use a single event to launch both the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3.
Second of all, Apple stretching the iPhone refresh cycle to over a year while shortening that of the iPad to 6 months seems very unlikely. No particular reason. It just does.
Third, the iPad 3 cannot possibly count as a major upgrade too soon.
Apple just barely impressed with the enhancements on the iPad 2 - after all, how much thinner and faster can they make it in such short time? The price is what really makes the iPad 2 attractive. Admittedly, it's also much more powerful inside, but half the user base won't even notice that.
So don’t get your hopes up for a Retina iPad this year. 2012 is the safest bet for an iPad 3 launch.