Leaked Rear Shell Pictures Of The iPad 5
There have been many rumors about a possible October launch for the next generation iPad, the iPad 5. Less than a week separates us from October and a recent set of leak pictures show what seems to be rear shells of the fifth generation iPad. The rear shells are in “space gray” and in silver and they were leaked online yesterday.
The images were leaked by Australian blogger Sonny Dickson; he says the components that can be seen in the images belong to the fifth generation iPad, which is expected to be unveiled and released next month, in October, together with the second generation iPad mini (which is expected to feature a Retina display).
The iPhone 5S, which was unveiled this month, on September 10th, was the first Apple device to introduce the space gray color variant, replacing the usual black color variant used by previous iPhone (and iPod touch) models. These pictures showing the iPad 5′s rear shell, were leaked a week after another set of images leaked online, of the second generation iPad mini’s rear shell, in the same space gray color option.
Regarding the iPad 5′s specs, rumors suggest the next generation iPad from Apple will feature a 9.7 inches display (the same size as its predecessors) capable of a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It is also rumored that the iPad 5 will be as light and thin as the iPad mini and it will integrate touch sensors with a thin film instead of glass, as is the case with current iPad models.
Macotakara, a Japanese website, cited United Daily News (a Chinese publication) to report that Apple intends to manufacture a 12 inches version of the iPad. United Daily News apparently was informed that the Cupertino based giant is working with a Taiwanese manufacturer named Quanta Computer to manufacture the 12 inch iPad. Quanta Computer has already developed products for Apple, such as the video iPod from 2006, notebooks and the latest MacBook Air models.
Apparently Quanta Computer intends to enlarge its field of operation, as thin and light laptop market segment is starting to lose ground to tablets, so the Taiwanese company wants to enter the tablet market segment. Some analysts suggest that tablets’ increased popularity could have a negative effect on MacBook sales. Such a scenario would constrain Apple to widen its range of iPad tablets.
Rumors regarding a larger iPad are not new as they have been around sicne May this year, when it was first suggested that Apple could release a 12.9 inches iPad earlier next year; the 12.9 inch iPad was named “iPad Max”. Two months later, in July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple requested display designs just below 13 inches, from its suppliers, for a new iPad model.
