It pretty much sounds like a given that we’ll be getting a 2048×1536 Retina display, which means, at 9.7-inches it won’t be quite as dense as the iPhone 4S but you’ll likely be holding it further away from your eyes, effectively making the difference minor.

LTE 4G networking is harder to pin down. The Qualcomm chipset sounds like it’s ready, but LTE simply isn’t very widespread yet, and Apple has huge international sales. Apple currently offers three iPad 2 models: Wi-Fi, EVDO Rev. A, and GSM/HSPA. Could they switch to Wi-Fi, EVDO Rev A/HSPA+, and make the 3rd SKU an LTE model for carriers that support it (most importantly, Verizon?)

Quad-core Android tablets were announced earlier this year, does Apple have to meet that latest processor escalation? More cores open the door to more features, for example AirPlay uses the second core to mirror the iPad 2 display, but do we really need 4 yet? Since Apple controls both hardware and software, they can optimize the heck out of their processor and get performance that often feels better than greater spec’ed competition already.

Likewise 1GB of RAM and 128GB of NAND Flash memory storage. 1GB of RAM, especially with a Retina display, may open the door to even more spectacular gaming, especially if the GPU is also getting a boost as expected. The multitasking system could do with a healthy amount of available RAM as well. With Apple going to the iCloud it may not seem like on-device storage is as big a deal as it used to be, but with iBooks 2 making textbooks a reality, with the possibility of 1080p video support on the horizon, and with truly epic games needing a lot of storage space, it’s definitely something that should be on the radar.

Almost 3 years later, and USB ports and SDHC card readers are still something we get asked about. Apple has their Camera kit dongle and that’s likely all they’ll ever have. Wireless is their future for files. Thunderbolt, on the other hand, would be great for moving the largest of the large files, at least until next-generation Wi-Fi is ready. But Thunderbolt is based on PCI Express architecture, the kind you find in PCs, and doesn’t sound like it’s iPad compatible yet.

Better cameras, however, are certainly iPad compatible. Granted, few people will be replacing tiny, pocketable point-and-shoots with iPads, but the current cameras are barely serviceable. Facetime HD up front feels like table stakes at this point, and something in the 5 to 8 megapixel range would be much better in back. If either the Retina display or LTE radio requires a bigger battery, making iPad 3 even slightly thicker, hopefully Apple has the depth to put a decent piece of glass in as well.

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The iPad 3 could be coming packed with a quad-core A6 chipset and support LTE speeds according to a source who claims to have access to the unannounced, unreleased device. BGR reports:

From the data in the photos, which contain the output from an iPad 3 using a development and debug tool called iBoot, we can infer plenty of information about the upcoming iPad 3. [...] The new processor will also apparently be a quad-core model, making the upcoming iPad 3 the fastest iOS device ever, we have been told.

The veracity of the data is, of course, uncertain. Previous rumors have claimed that iPad 3 production has started, as well as Foxconn issuing plans to build 5 new iPad production facilities in Brazil.

The A6 chipset noted in the debug tool, if accurate, carries a model number of S5L8945X with the iPad units themselves carrying model numbers of J1 and J2 (iPad 3,1 and iPad 3.2 respectively). This falls in line with what was uncovered in iOS 5.1 beta code. The rumor calls for one model being WiFi-only, and the other adding full support for LTE/CDMA/GSM. This should allow for Apple to release just one SKU across data-equipped iPad units for all major carriers, rather than a special LTE model for the limited markets that currently support it.

As far as rumors of when the iPad 3 might hit the streets, speculation of a March 2012 seem likely with Apple sticking to their historical release cycle, but we won’t know for sure until Apple makes the announcement.

Source: BGR

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has begun production of the iPad 3 for an expected March 2012 release.

[iPad 3] will sport a high-definition screen, run a faster processor and work with next-generation wireless networks, according to three people familiar with the product. [..] The tablet will use a quad-core chip, an enhancement that lets users jump more quickly between applications, two of the people said.

The March date is spot on, and the 2042×1536 Retina display screen is an easy bet at this point. Apple could go quad-core with the A6 chipset as competing tablets have recently done, but Apple’s integrated hardware/software approach has thus far let them do more with less.

LTE still feels like a wildcard to me. While Verizon has better deployment and AT&T is starting to ramp up, Sprint and T-Mobile are behind and international carriers are hit and miss (and just like 3G GSM, frequencies are not always compatible).

The Retina display and A6 alone will make for a compelling upgrade, but for those in LTE areas, it could make it a no brainer.

Source: Bloomberg

Mark Gurman over at 9to5 Mac has discovered some code buried deep within the iOS 5.1 beta which might suggest Apple is prepping a quad-core chip to power future iPhone and iPad devices.

The references to quad-core iPhone and iPad chips come by way of a hidden panel that describes cores that are supported by iOS device hardware. The updated core management software includes an option of “/cores/core.3,” and this represents a fourth available processing core…

Gurman explains that people who work closely with iOS code advised the core count begins at 0, so a dual-core processor would be labeled as core.1 for its second core, and as such, a quad-core processor would carry a core.3 label for its fourth core.

Whether we’ll see this in the Apple A6 chipset — which is expected to power the iPad 3 and next-gen iPhone — is another story. Although Apple doesn’t like to tout specs as a selling point, they need great hardware to drive great software.

Source: 9to5Mac

We’ve heard before that, among other things, iPhone OS 3.0 would support quad-core processors. Of course, we haven’t seen these processors yet, but now ST-Ericsson and ARM have announced they’ll be giving a private sneak peak at one at Mobile World Congress. (Via MacRumors):

The technological breakthrough is the first of its kind and is based on the ARM(R) Cortex(TM)-A9 multicore processor, which represents a significant leap from previous generations of baseband/application processor architectures by providing unprecedented levels of performance and power efficiency.

Combined with previous rumors of OpenCL support allowing the faster, betterPowerVR graphics cores to boost general processing as well, and 802.11n mobile WiFi chips future iPhone generations could be, as Steve Jobs is so fond of putting it, real screamers.

Better hardware (especially more RAM) could, of course, encourage Apple to allow more 3rd party multi-tasking. Maybe even make the leap to iPhone HD? (In a matt black finish?!)

No sooner do we mention how Apple may need to ramp up iPhone 3.0 in response to the Palm Pre, than we find this little gem via ZDNet (which MacRumors is backing up):

iPhone 3.0 will support Quad-Core Processors.

Yeah, we fell off our chairs as well. But Apple did buy chip designers PA Semi and license both ARM and PowerVR, so the chips could very well be what we get the next time Apple (hopefully Steve Jobs!) takes the stage and pulls an iPhone from his pocket.

As ZDNet rightly points out, the current iPhone already rivals dedicated gaming portables in power, imagine that gone Quad-Core (would make for a nifty iPhone HD as well, now wouldn’t it?)