14 DAY TRIAL // The last of a string of tidbits coming from Japan’s Macotakara, the iPad 5 will reportedly employ a number of alterations that are taking their toll on the microphone hole, and the SIM card module.
According to a source with alleged knowledge of the device, Apple’s iPad 5 will sport a redesigned microphone hole.
The tweak was initially tested on the iPad mini (the blog mistakenly says “iPod), then abandoned, and now it seems it’s going to be used in the final version of the iPad 5, the report notes.
“And he told iPad 5th may support standard SIM nor than only support data-SIM,” reads an additional tidbit, translated from Japanese.
The source also says the iPad 5 will not be shipped before the iPhone 5S, but afterwards, meaning we’re in for another special event in fall (following WWDC).
All this information is in line with reports from various analysts who’ve been talking to Apple’s Asian part suppliers and assemblers.
In June, Apple will have a special showcase that focuses on software, including iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, the next-generation of the company’s operating systems.
Analysts find it extremely unlikely for Apple to release a new iPhone or iPad at the event, but there’s a lot of chatter about new Macs scheduled for unveiling at WWDC.
The same analysts say Apple has a second event planned for the September-October timeframe, like in previous years, during which the Cupertino giant will lift the cloth off a new iPhone (or multiple new iPhones), as well as a new iPad (or multiple new iPads).
The fifth-generation iPad, in particular, is expected to mark a departure from the current design.
Apple is said to have prepared a full-size iPad with the same 9.7-inch display but a much narrower bezel, and a design akin to (if not identical to) the design of the iPad mini.