iPad 3 Production Underway for Early March Shipments?

Japanese blog Mac Otakara reports that Apple's manufacturing partners Foxconn and Pegatron have begun production on the next-generation iPad, with Foxconn once again bearing approximately 85% of the load. According to the report, the initial production batch is targeted for shipment in early March, in line with a number of rumors regarding the iPad 3 launch.

According to Chinese source, Foxconn Technology and Pegatron Technology started next generation of iPad assembly with Foxconn bearing 85% and Pegatron taking 15% of the production load like as iPhone 4S. Accelerated schedule is made possible by earlier Chinese New Year festival, 23rd-28th January.

This first lot production implements LCD's, which are produced by Sharp Electronics Corporation, and aims to be shipped at early March, source told.

The report reiterates several of the details found in iLounge's reports on the device, including descriptions of a form factor that looks approximately the same as the iPad 2 but which is slightly thicker. Mac Otakara notes that tight-fitting iPad 2 cases will apparently not fit the new model but that the Smart Cover will be compatible with the new model despite an adjustment in the location of the device's magnets.

dark gray smart cover
Mac Otakara has at times offered accurate information, but has had a few missteps including claims of a late 2011 launch for the iPad 3, new flash memory for MacBook Air solid state drive, and a SIM-less iPhone 4S.

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

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...

Top Rated Comments

Themaeds Avatar
175 months ago
"with Foxconn bearing 85%"

...and also 85 percent of the suicides :( Remember that while we all love our gadgets, there is a human cost in getting them to us.
Just of curiosity, does this ever deter you from buying one?
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swarmster Avatar
175 months ago
"with Foxconn bearing 85%"

...and also 85 percent of the suicides :( Remember that while we all love our gadgets, there is a human cost in getting them to us.

Statistically speaking, wouldn't it be expected that 85% of a group of people bear 85% of suicides? The suicide rate at Foxconn is better than the rest of China.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scott911 Avatar
175 months ago
Statistically speaking, wouldn't it be expected that 85% of a group of people bear 85% of suicides? The suicide rate at Foxconn is better than the rest of China.

exactly. I don't want to suggest anyone shouldn't be making conditions as good as possible for factory workers - but the simple truth is:

A Chinese citizen is MORE likely to commit suicide outside of foxconn than inside foxconn.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TWSS37 Avatar
175 months ago
I hope so. I've been holding off since the first iPad to get the third version.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gnasher729 Avatar
175 months ago
"with Foxconn bearing 85%"

...and also 85 percent of the suicides :( Remember that while we all love our gadgets, there is a human cost in getting them to us.
Every year, about 30,000 US citizens who don't own iPads or iPhones commit suicide. There is a human cost in not owning them.

(The US postal service has less than half the number of employees that Foxconn has. Being employed there apparently drives so many people crazy, that the term "going postal" is used today for someone who grabs a gun and starts shooting random people).

Just of curiosity, does this ever deter you from buying one?
Most people don't care, some know about statistics, and the others should think about how many suicides there would be if nobody bought anything made at Foxconn and 800,000 employees lost their jobs.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdylan Avatar
175 months ago
Oh, really?

"with Foxconn bearing 85%"

...and also 85 percent of the suicides :( Remember that while we all love our gadgets, there is a human cost in getting them to us.
What does that even mean? 85% of the suicides? You sound like either a troll or a moron. The suicide rate for US college students is 4 times what it is at a Foxconn factory, and at Foxconn, it is much less than at comparable factories in China. What about for US soldiers? They commit suicide, so should we not deploy them anymore? What about car factories in Japan? Should we compare those rates also, and "think" about what we chose to buy/drive? People commit suicide, it doesn't matter if they are rich or poor, Chinese or America.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)