Digitimes has been the source of many supplier rumors for Apple's upcoming products, though their accuracy is always up for some debate. Based on our own record keeping at this time, Digitimes has had about a 55% accuracy on rumors that could later be validated.
A new codename finding by 9to5Mac in the latest iOS 5 betas seems to confirm that Digitimes has been accurate about some of their reporting on the upcoming iPad 3.
The "J2" model listed above corresponds to recent report in which Digitimes discusses two prototype models codenamed J1 and J2 that Apple has been working on.
Apple is currently giving two tablet PC projects codenamed J1 and J2 to its upstream partners for development. The sources revealed that the major differences of the new tablet PCs compared to the previous model are their size, specifications and technologies.
Since the new tablet PCs have a higher resolution, Apple has demanded the design of the light source to be changed from a single LED light bar to two LED light bars on the left and right sides of the machine, but since the method of adopting two LED light bars has created difficulty in shrinking the machine's thickness, some vendors have come out with designs that only adopt one light bar, but are packing two LED chips into one package.
The report is quite vague but does touch on an issue that has appeared from other sources as well.
The issue of the the higher resolution screen of the iPad 3 requiring a second light bar for the iPad 3 was also reported by Digitimes. iLounge later reported that the new iPad 3 would end up being 0.7mm thicker than the iPad 2 due to this need to incorporate a dual light bar system to support the higher-resolution display.
Apple is widely believed to be working on an iPad 3 with a "Retina" display that may double the iPad's screen resolution. Persistent rumors have suggested that Apple's partners have had difficulties in mass producing such screens.
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
Apple today announced refreshed 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models, now featuring the M4 chip, an upgraded camera, and a new "Sky Blue" color option.
"Sky Blue" is an all-new blue finish that joins Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. Apple describes it as a "beautiful, metallic light blue that creates a dynamic gradient when light reflects off of its surface." Space Gray is no longer available. ...
Apple today announced the 11th-generation iPad, now featuring the A16 chip and more storage.
The announcement came alongside the debut of the new iPad Air, which now features the M3 chip. From Apple's press release:
The A16 chip provides a jump in performance for everyday tasks and experiences in iPadOS, while still providing all-day battery life. Compared to the previous generation, the...
Apple today introduced new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models with the M3 chip, along with an updated Magic Keyboard for the device.
With the M3 chip, the new iPad Air should offer up to 20% faster performance compared to the previous-generation model with the M2 chip, which was released in May 2024. In addition, the M3 chip brings hardware-accelerated ray tracing to the iPad Air for the...
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes two smaller but meaningful improvements for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay.
First, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a 14-inch...
Wednesday March 5, 2025 11:29 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The new MacBook Air has a useful upgrade: it natively supports up to two external displays, in addition to the laptop's built-in display.
In other words, the latest MacBook Air can be used with a pair of external displays without needing to keep the laptop's lid closed.
Apple's tech specs for the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air:Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the...
Wednesday March 5, 2025 6:01 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that it has updated the Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options, Thunderbolt 5 ports, and more.
The M4 Max chip was already released last year in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. It can be configured with up to a 16-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified RAM. Geekbench 6 benchmark results indicate that the M4 Max is up to 75% faster than...
Wednesday March 5, 2025 1:47 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today updated the MacBook Air with the M4 chip, and the laptop is also available in an all-new Sky Blue finish alongside Silver, Starlight, and Midnight.
YouTuber Andru Edwards has showed off the Sky Blue color in a few real-world photos.
Keep in mind that the Sky Blue finish is not very saturated. However, the color's appearance will vary based on lighting conditions.
View ...
Apple today announced a completely redesigned Magic Keyboard accessory for the iPad Air.
The new keyboard features a larger built-in trackpad, a 14-key function row, and a new aluminum hinge. From Apple's press release:
The all-new Magic Keyboard for iPad Air expands what users can do at an even lower price. The larger built-in trackpad brings greater precision for detail-oriented...
"The sources revealed that the major differences of the new tablet PCs compared to the previous model are their size, specifications and technologies."
Wow. Some analysis from those sources!!
Because if the size, specifications and technologies were the same -- we'd have the iPad 2!!
Hahaha... I thought to myself, "What other thing could be added to that list?!"
Since size was mentioned, I wonder if it will be smaller than the current iPad? Maybe 7"?
A tablet PC, rly?
Not quite tablet and not quite a PC.
I picked up on that sly little adjective too...
Let's hope Apple can avoid the need for a dual light bar. It's a compromise I'm sure they'd rather not live with. A thicker iPad would be a step in the wrong direction.
Thicker, yeah, like adding the thickness of a razor blade so you can have a beautiful bright display...no problem.
Screw a 7" iPad, Jobs was right. I just got a Kindle Fire, and the difference in usability of the 7" screen is huge. It's closer to web surfing on a phone than it is on an iPad, it's hard to press buttons and links, in landscape it's too short and in portrait it's too narrow. Granted that has more to do with 16:9 and 1024x600, but 4:3 7" would do away with being able to hold it in one hand, the only advantage to 7". So in short, screw 7", Jobs was right.
I'm going to return the fire, it's a piece of crap, not even worth the sub-manufacturing price it's sold at. It will only appeal to people who care about cost savings above any sense of quality, and those people are not Apples target audience. Anyways...
Rob
The fire will sell like hotcakes leading up to the holiday, and then lead the pack on returns for the next 30 days. Even the least expensive iPad will do a better job of surfing Amazon than the Fire, and that's what the Fire was meant to do.
iPads are, and will always be, awkward products, until they run some form of OS X, or evolve into something as advanced as OS X.
Dude! iOS is OSX, have you been locked up or something?
Screw a 7" iPad, Jobs was right. I just got a Kindle Fire, and the difference in usability of the 7" screen is huge. It's closer to web surfing on a phone than it is on an iPad, it's hard to press buttons and links, in landscape it's too short and in portrait it's too narrow. Granted that has more to do with 16:9 and 1024x600, but 4:3 7" would do away with being able to hold it in one hand, the only advantage to 7". So in short, screw 7", Jobs was right.
I'm going to return the fire, it's a piece of crap, not even worth the sub-manufacturing price it's sold at. It will only appeal to people who care about cost savings above any sense of quality, and those people are not Apples target audience. Anyways...
"The sources revealed that the major differences of the new tablet PCs compared to the previous model are their size, specifications and technologies."
Wow. Some analysis from those sources!!
Because if the size, specifications and technologies were the same -- we'd have the iPad 2!!
"The sources revealed that the major differences of the new tablet PCs compared to the previous model are their size, specifications and technologies."
Wow. Some analysis from those sources!!
Because if the size, specifications and technologies were the same -- we'd have the iPad 2!!
The most shocking discovery of all is that Apple seem to actively be working on an iPad 2 successor right now that is called iPad 3! I definitely thought the iPad project was dropped due to them selling so bad! What would we be without those analysts!
