Rumor: Apple Might Launch iPad 5 in Q3 2013

Taiwan based research firm TrendForce has stated Apple might be readying its fifth generation iPad for a launch in Q3 2013. Also, the new iPad 5 will come with several new features which will mark its first complete overhaul since it was launched almost three years ago.

These include a thin bezel design that Apple introduced in the iPad Mini along with the incorporation of the “thin GF2 touch module of the same level as iPad Mini.” This, it is believed, will lead to an iPad that will be thinner, lighter, and more compact than the current gen versions. Another aspect that is expected to inject a fresh dose of excitement around the 9.7 inch iPad is a likely price cut. Interestingly, the once mighty iPad is having to ward off the most intense competition from none other than its own stable mate, the iPad Mini. Each iPad version has been a trendsetter, though the recently launched iPad Mini has gone on to be more of a consumer favorite and has eaten into its bigger cousin’s market share. So much so that the iPad Mini is likely to make up about 65 percent of Apple’s tablet shipment during the first half of 2013. However, the launch of the new iPad 5 is expected to balance things out when it’s launched.

Meanwhile, in another related development, images supposed to be that of the next gen iPad Mini real shell have appeared online. The shell looks a lot like the same on the current gen iPad Mini, though maybe a tad thicker. This again might be the indication of the tablet incorporating retina display for its future iteration.