Buried in a Reuters report this evening about the imminent launch of the MacBook Air, there was a single sentence nonchalantly stating that the iPad 3 would launch in the fourth quarter of this year with a screen resolution "5-6 times" higher than the iPad 2.

The numbers seemed absurd so we tracked down the original Economic Daily News report which only made it sound slightly less unbelievable. Thanks to translation assistance from @wayyuen, @wongwil, @agleung and Micah Fisher-Kirshner, here's the relevant portion in English:

Apple dominates the tablet computer market in the year of 2010; In 2011, a huge number of tablet computers have been introduced and given a general threat to Apple's leading status, Apple is thinking to give an aggressive counteroffensive.
....
Apple, in order to maintain a leading position, plans to launch iPad 3 in the fourth quarter by shortening the iPad Product life cycle. And also, try to push the screen resolution of iPad 3 to 2560x1920 , which is the ultimate resolution a 9.7 Inch Panel can achieve and doubles "Full HD".

The reasoning behind a second iPad update in 2011 is that Apple's competitors have been purely reacting to the launch of the iPad 2, and while they are ramping up their launches for later this year, Apple plans to trump them again by launching the iPad 3 quickly.

123254 ipad 4 2 profile

While we might have just dismissed the report in its entirety, this actually isn't the first time we've heard this line of reasoning. In February before the launch of the iPad 2, both DaringFireball and TechCrunch seemed to believe that Apple would make such a move. DaringFireball wrote at that time:

Thus, my gut feeling is that Apple will move the iPad to a September release schedule, alongside the iPods. But they wouldn't want to wait over a year and a half from the announcement of the original iPad to announce the second one -- not with these stakes, and not with so many serious competitors trying their best to catch up.

Perhaps the most unbelievable part of the story, however, is that Apple might try to reach a resolution of 2560x1920 in the new device. That resolution would be over 6x the number of pixels of the current iPad, and 2.5x the linear resolution in each dimension. The closest display we've heard of is Samsung's announcement of a 2560x1600 10.1" LCD display in May. Apple has been rumored to be bringing a "Retina" display to the iPad 3, though there has been little talk of it recently. To further add to the doubts, component manufacturers seem to be expecting the iPad 3 to arrive in 2012.

Economic Daily Times has been a spotty source of Apple rumors, so we don't have much confidence in this report, but felt it an interesting discussion piece given the previous "iPad 3 in 2011" rumors.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

IndianaiPhone Avatar
184 months ago


mmhmmm.....
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
acslater017 Avatar
184 months ago
Doubt it.

1) The 5th-generation iPhone is much more likely to be released in September. Why would they stack them so closely? It makes more sense to have iPad in April, WWDC in June, iPhone in September, Mac updates throughout the year (and holiday sales of course).

2) It really wouldn't make sense for Steve Jobs to call 2011 "The Year of iPad 2".

3) Competitors have not really stepped up. If the Xoom, Galaxy, etc. had been smash hits, then I could maybe see why Apple would want to "counterattack". But the iPad's sold 25 million units in 14 months. The rest have moved an order of magnitude less. Why rush something at this point?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
184 months ago
Not going to happen....nothing to see here.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Atothendrew24 Avatar
184 months ago
If this is true than Apple is going to make a lot of people angry.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bananasquiddly Avatar
184 months ago
2560x1920 is WRONG

I don't get why people still spread rumors like this—there won't be an iPad with a resolution that isn't exactly doubled (or quadrupled, or some other even multiple) in each direction. It's not about some arbitrary high resolution or dpi, it's about allowing for a high-res display while preserving backwards compatibility with existing apps.

1024x768 x 2 = 2048x1536 (right!)
2560x1920 x 2.5 = 2560x1920 (wrong!)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Megagator Avatar
184 months ago
If it's too good to be true...

This would leave a couple jaws on the floor though:rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...