iPad 3 expected to have 4G connectivity

Apple’s next version of the iPad will feature 4G LTE connectivity on both Verizon Wireless and AT&T, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The device, dubbed the iPad 3, is expected to be unveiled March 7 and may come with a higher-resolution display and a quad-core chip.

Apple is quiet as usual on the new iteration of the iPad, but next month the iPad 2 will be one year old and an updated version is expected from the company. Last year, the iPad 2 was launched on March 2. It has since sold more than 43 million, maintaining Apple’s position as market leader despite a flurry of rival Android tablets.

Details about the iPad 3 are very thin yet pundits seem to have reached a consensus on a core set of improvements for the new tablet. A high-resolution Retina Display is hot-tipped for the iPad 3, doubling the current iPad's resolution to 2048-by-1536. While production has reportedly begun for the display, some argue the improved screen could make the iPad 3 slightly thicker -- though it would be unusual of Apple to launch a new product that’s thicker than the older version.

A quad-core chip is on the cards for the iPad 3, says the iMore website. Dubbed A6, the quad-core system-on-a-chip would have twice the power of the dual-core A5 found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, and would be powerful enough to drive the above-mentioned Retina Display. Apple has introduced new chips with each iteration of the iPad, chips that have later found their way to the latest iPhone.

If the reports are accurate, Apple would be in keeping with the strategy it has deployed with new iPhones and iPads. The Retina Display in the iPhone would finally make its way across the line to the iPads, and the company would also make the long-anticipated jump to 4G technology, widely adopted by now by high-end Android devices.

What appears to have been holding back Apple from adoption 4G LTE by now is battery life with the technology, as Android rivals are widely documented to suffer from poor battery performance. It’s unclear though whether Apple will make the jump to 4G and manage to keep the same 10-hour battery life for the iPad 3, and later down the line, a 4G iPhone with battery life comparable to earlier models.

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