Apple sent out an e-mail invitation to some of the larger media outlets on Febuary 28th, inviting everyone to join them this Wednesday, Mar. 7th, 2012 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The contents of said invitation hinted at something to do with the iPad, and of course, like always, everybody in the Apple blogosphere started conjuring rumor, after rumor, after rumor. Most of these “insider tips” are really just being pulled from everyone’s ass. Like usual, everybody is over embellishing what may come to the next revision of the iPad.
We have tried to stay out of it this time around. People have been getting so carried away with added features and are making a big deal about some leaked repair parts from Chinese manufactures. As usual, most of these predictions are going to be wrong or are just simply wishful thinking.
Like I said, we’ve stayed out of all of the speculation until now, simply because the majority of the rumors out there are just link baiting on a hot topic and we’re not going to stoop that low.
With that said, since tomorrow is going to be the event day. Why not have a little fun predicting what we’ll see at the event?
Apple TV Update
No, not an actual television set. I think Apple is long off on that one. However, the little black beauty could use an update. The current aTV is only sporting an Apple A4 processor, while it’s still a pretty powerful processor for what the device does, with Mountain Lion adding support for screen sharing through Airplay alongside the iPad 2 and iPhone 4s, both running the Apple A5 chip, it’s going to get a little tough for the A4 based Apple TV to keep up. Especially with the added resolution that Mountain Lion will be pushing out.
Here’s some of the things I think we might see added onto the new Apple TV refresh.
- A5 processor to keep it up to date with the current iPhone 4s and iPad 2. There’s a possibility we could see an A6 chip tomorrow if Apple bumps the specs in the iPad “3″.
- Native 1080p support. Right now the Apple Tv only does 720p. Since Mountain Lion will support higher resolutions, I think the Apple TV will need to adapt to those configurations.
- Apps: There could be a possibility that we might see some apps come to the Apple TV. While it’s certainly not needed, I could definitely see where it could be beneficial in selling more units. I think it would appeal to a broader audience. Hulu + would be a nice addition. We might also see some new iTunes U content arriving shortly.
- More ram and slightly larger storage capacity. Unfortunately we probably won’t have access to that storage space without jailbreaking the Apple TV, it will more than likely need more ram and storage to cache films upwards to 1080p.
That’s about all I can think of that Apple might do to the current Apple TV. I don’t think we’ll see any major design changes, the current form factor is fantastic for any living room, it’s very small and inconspicuous. I think most everything will be internal.
iPad 3 / HD
This one is more than likely going to steal the show. It’s quite obvious Apple will be discussing things related to the iPad, unfortunately that’s all we’ve got. There have been so many rumors flying around, people are out right convinced that the iPad 3 / HD will come with everything but the kitchen sink. I personally don’t think so.
Here’s what I think we’ll see if a new iPad is announced.
- Retina display. While I feel the iPad doesn’t really need a retina display, I think it’s something that will be added on to make the device even more enticing.
- A6 processor. It’s a given, if they are updating the iPad then it’s definitely going to get a speed boost, there’s no doubt about that.
- Price cut or higher capacity for the same price as the iPad 2. There’s really no reason for Apple to cut the price by any means, the iPad 2 was a success, but for some people the $500 price tag is still a bit much, especially when some of the latest android tablets are getting cheaper. Apple could afford to lower the price a smidgen. The competition is having a hard enough time trying to catch up to Apple. If they lowered the price, there would be no stopping them.
- Better camera, 1080p recording like the 4s. I’m a little reserved on this one because it doesn’t seem like Apple is really interested in providing decent cameras in their products other than the iPhone, but if the iPad 3 / HD has a retina display, more than likely it’ll have a better camera to take advantage of the new higher resolution support.
Those are the only things that make complete sense to me. I simply cannot see Apple adding Thunderbolt support to the iPad, it’s not needed. Plus they would have to completely change the form factor to make up for the different sized port. There’s also no logical reason for Apple to release a 7” tablet. While a Kindle Fire / Samsung Galaxy competitor would be interesting, Apple is doing just fine with the current iPad size, anything smaller and it’ll be cumbersome to use.
We keep hearing about LTE being added to the iPad, while it might be a possibility that it’ll be an option, I don’t think Apple is going to spend a lot of time on it, LTE isn’t as glorious as people are making it out to be. Yeah, the speeds are killer, but you have to have coverage to get those speeds, LTE is still being implemented all over the US. There are major cities that still do not have LTE access, so it’s a very limited market right now. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t hear anything about LTE tomorrow.
That wraps up my predictions for two of the hottest items of the spring. Do you have any off the wall predictions?
