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iPad 3 in production: quad-core processor, high res display, LTE?

There’s not long now until the iPad 3 is unveiled, and as we creep ever closer to March, more and more details are emerging about the next iteration of Apple’s infamous tablet.

This time it’s Bloomberg boarding the rumour train with some familiar specs, but also some interesting new details. The iPad 3 is supposed to feature a quad-core processor, higher resolution display, and support for LTE.

The quad-core processor makes sense, a natural progression and the direction the industry is heading in, as does the higher resolution display – the “doubling” of the current 1024×768 resolution to 2048×1536 has been rumoured for a while. But will we really see LTE in the iPad 3? Past rumours have claimed LTE hasn’t graced previous Cupertino products due to battery drain, although the large battery in the iPad could offset this. Technology is rapidly progressing all the time, and it could also be that there are newer, more efficient LTE chipsets that Apple are employing.

Even if LTE does make it to the iPad 3, it’s not something we’d be able to take advantage of here in the UK until the necessary spectrum has been auctioned off and networks begin to build out their networks. The spectrum auction is due at the end of this year, and then the various carriers would need to begin upgrading their equipment and infrastructure to support LTE. It will be 2013 at the very earliest before we see any 4G action.

Production for the iPad 3 is said to be underway right now, with a full ramp up in February, pointing to a March release. We’ll be keeping an eye out for Apple’s announcement landing in our inbox, and let you know as soon as it does.

Source: Bloomberg via Engadget

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