Being both an avid sports fan and an iPad geek it is hard for me to figure out what has gotten me more revved up as the summer winds down. On the one hand there was the almost hourly rumors flying around about who would be moved and where in the run up of the Major League Baseball trade deadline. On the other hand is the daily whispers that continue to come about when the next iPad and iPhone will be hitting the market.
While there have been a ton of rumors about the fact that the iPad 3 is going to be coming out this fall along with what is commonly referred to as the iPhone 4S, the newest rumblings seem to not only be backing up a fall of 2011 release but also the month it will be hitting shelves. According to several reports, both the iPhone 5 or 4S and the iPad 3 will go into full production in the first week of September and will start being offered to consumers in October.
Here’s where the story gets a bit interesting though. Reports have been circulating for months now that we can expect the iPad 3 to be hitting shelves this fall, but many industry analysts are also now claiming that the iPad 3 will need the new A6 chip in order to run properly and to the height of its possibilities. The hitch here is that rumors don’t have this new A6 chip being produced until early 2012. The chip of course will lead to faster processors and has long been thought to be getting released in time for the iPhone 6 so that device will blow away other smart phones. But if this particular chip is also slated to be put into the iPad 3 then something is clearly just not adding up. The news of this particular chip is also interesting because TSMC is supposedly the company that will contracted to make the new chip, replacing long time Apple partner Samsung who has been producing the A4 and A5 chips for years now.
While there is certainly some excitement to see the iPad 3 hit the open market, complete with what many people feel will be closer to a real retina-sharp display, this fall it seems to make a little more sense to hold off the iPad 3 until the spring of next year. It should be pointed out that the spring has been the usual release time for the iPad and any new versions, with the first device being released in April of 2010 and the iPad 2 being released around the same time this year.
If these new reports can be believed and compared, it seems more likely that the iPhone 4S or 5 will indeed be hitting store shelves around October with the iPad 3 not quite hitting the market until the spring of 2012. While that would be disappointing to Apple enthusiasts it could actually be good news as the next iPad will be that much better with a better chip.
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