Apple ‘iPad HD’ rumored for fall release

July 8, 2011 By Andrew Couts

Rumor has it that Apple will release a high-end "iPad HD" with a 2048x1536 resolution display this fall.

The Apple rumor mill ramped up to full speed this week with reports that Apple has a new iPad model set for release this fall. According to Joshua Topolsky at This Is My Next, Apple’s newest tablet will be called the “iPad HD,” with the device expected to boast a screen with double the resolution (2048×1536) of the iPad 2 — a rumor we’ve heard before, but it hasn’t been particularly believable until now.

Sources say that the device will be for the high-end “pro” market (meaning its price points will well exceed that of the iPad2), possibly for professional producers of video and photo content — though that doesn’t mean anybody with a big enough bank roll can’t enjoy the shiny new tablet. Apple is said to have an iPad-friendly version of either Final Cut Pro or Aperture to go along with the iPad HD. And the device “is specifically said to not be the iPad 3, rather a complimentary piece of the iPad 2 line,” writes Topolsky, similar to the MacBook-MacBook Pro relationship.

News of a new, high-end iPad is corroborated by FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger, who says that Apple likely has an “iPad 2 Plus” in store for the holiday season. That device, says Berger, will have a pixel density of 250-300 ppi, which adds more weight to the double-resolution screen. Berger stipulates, however, that “we await more confirming data points from other supply chain contacts before fully believing a new iPad device is coming in 2011.”

Topolsky’s report follows a big story from the Wall Street Journal that asserts Apple indeed has a thinner and lighter iPhone 5 in the works. While many have speculated that the next iPhone would look essentially the same as the iPhone 4, Topolsky says that we will in fact see an entirely redesigned next-gen iPhone. The reason for the iPhone 4 look-a-like rumors is because Apple has been testing the iPhone 5 components in old iPhone 4 cases.

The reason Apple is ditching the iPhone 4 design so quickly is because high-level Apple executives are tired of it, and “are ready to move on to an entirely new product,” writes Topolsky.

Whether or not all of this will play out in September remains to be seen. But Apple’s plans appear to be coming into sharper focus, even if a few of the details remain blurry.

(Image shows an iPad concept design, not the iPad HD)

Showing 5 comments

Scott42444 at 8:18am 9th July 2011 That concept design is what I am secretly hoping for with an "IPad HD" or IPad 3. I keep reading about Apple's research and development of "bendable glass technology". It's pretty much what would seperate the IPad from tablets like the Galaxy 10.1 and I would no longer have a choice. I would have to buy the new IPad. I am a sucker for that all glass, no bezel or plastic on the face.
Simelane at 5:14am 9th July 2011 I realise that mathematics is a week point for Americans... so I thought I'd help you with a little refresher: Doubling each side of a flat surface does not double the size of the area, it quadruples it. Therefore, the following statement: "Apple’s newest tablet will be called the “iPad HD,” with the device expected to boast a screen with double the resolution (2048×1536) of the iPad 2" void of any mathematical sense. This should be obvious to anyone that transitioned from an iPhone 3G or 3GS to an iPhone 4... the pixel count of all the icons on the screen went up 4 times!
1. Yadda at 8:15am 9th July 2011 I realize that spelling is a "week" point of yours.
2. Anon at 4:32pm 10th July 2011 Apple is American. Gtfo.
Sam at 3:32am 9th July 2011 This is absolute bullshit, the picture was taken from a sketch from a designer of what a Ipad might look like if it went 3D, this article mentions nothing about that. Stop misleading readers because this story comes up in apple news under google and Im sure many like me will ask digital trends to be removed from google news search if they spread more lies like this