Rumor: Two iPads to be unveiled in January

December 29, 2011 By Jeffrey Van Camp

A new rumor points to a pair of 9.7-inch iPads being unveiled in January at Macworld, but is it true?

Apple rumors are a dime a dozen, but here’s the latest. DigiTimes, a site known for many true and false rumors, reports that Apple will unveil two new versions of the iPad at iWorld/Macworld on Jan. 26, 2012. The new models will both have 9.7-inch screens like the current iPad, but at least one of them will have a QXGA screen (1536×2048 pixel resolution). A previous DigiTimes rumor, pointed toward a model with a 7.85-inch screen, but DigiTimes now says that is not the case. One model may have an 8MP rear camera while the other may have a 5MP camera. Oh, and at least one of the units will have a larger 14,000mAh battery (bigger than any tablet we can recall off hand).

It does seem odd that Apple would release two iPad models that are the same except for some minor camera, screen, and battery improvements, but stranger things have happened. Odder is the timing of the unveiling. The first iPad was unveiled in April 2010, and the second was shown in March 2011, so a January reveal could be feasible, but Apple has not participated in Macworld for three years now, instead opting to hold its own events.

The presence of a high resolution screen on the next iPad has been floating around since the iPad 2 launched. It was originally rumored that the device would be unveiled around Sept. 2011. Another recent rumor pins the release date for the tablet Feb. 24, 2012, the birthday of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Showing 9 comments

LawDG at 7:32am 30th December 2011 I remember when Steve Jobs said, a 9" or less tablet is stupid since its size is too close into a phone.
Aziz Ahmed at 1:28am 30th December 2011 Rumor like the ones about two iPhones coming out?
TechGod at 12:11pm 29th December 2011 I would love to get an iPad but I hate how overpriced Apple products are.
1. Cun Con at 10:01am 30th December 2011 If you think iPad is overpriced, you're out of your mind. Most of competitors can't even successfully make tablets to match that price. Please do some research.
Andrew Orr at 8:05pm 29th December 2011 I doubt there would be two since they would probably be in conflict with each other. And there will NOT be an iPad mini.
Richard Delgado at 12:02pm 29th December 2011 This rumor has "We're running out of rumor material" written all over it!! TWO iPads with almost identical specs? I can see two iPads being introduced, but not with such minimal differences.
Patrick ZeZe Jaden at 7:47pm 29th December 2011 Goddamnit I just got one :/
PinBlueOrange at 10:50am 29th December 2011 Even though Steve Jobs may be gone, releasing separate models doesn't seem Apple-like. I think it's likely that the iPad 2 may stick around as a lower cost model, but there should just be one iPad 3. This is the formula that Apple followed with the iPhone, keeping the older models around as the entry-level products but only releasing one type of new phone at a time. The new phones did have some differences (white or black, different amounts of memory) but these differences are minimal.
tdaloisio at 10:22am 29th December 2011 So -- if you got an iPad 2 for Christmas, should you be returning it and waiting for the next gen? That is the real question!