In line with one of the theories explaining two dozen iPad part numbers that appeared earlier this week, 9to5Mac reports that half of those part numbers are indeed for a revised version of the third-generation full-size iPad.
The revised iPads arriving at next Tuesday's media event will reportedly make the switch to Apple's new Lightning connector, and may include other enhancements as well while retaining the same pricing as the current models.
Apple will announce a refreshed version of its full-sized, 9.7-inch Retina display iPad at its media event October 23rd, according to our sources. These people say that the new version of the iPad will retain the same $499, $599, and $699 WiFi-only price points, and the LTE line will retain the current $629, $729, and $829 pricing. With no price changes or additional storage capacities, we believe that the storage options of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB will also be retained.
Claims of a revised full-size iPad surfaced in July amid considerable skepticism, but gained momentum with several follow-up reports in subsequent weeks and were fleshed out with additional rumors over the past several months.
Rumors for the tweaked iPad have included a shift to new indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display technology, better heat dissipation, backlight changes, 4G LTE support for the UK and other countries using the 1800 MHz frequency band, and perhaps even a move to Apple's new A6 chip found in the iPhone 5. It is, however, unclear just which of the rumored changes will actually be included in the revision.
