We showed you images of what we expect the fifth generation of the iPad to look like back in January, and today Digitimes reports that the updated hardware could be 25-33% lighter than the current full-sized iPad.
We expect the next 9.7″ iPad to resemble the design of the 7.9″ iPad mini, but dropping a third of its weight is certainly a tall order as it would bring it just under a pound.
Current iPads without cellular connectivity weigh in at 1.44 pounds while the iPad mini is much lighter at 0.66 pounds, but the iPad mini doesn’t require as much LED backlighting as the larger, Retina display full-sized iPad, though the report claims the next full-sized iPad will use a single LED backlight rather than two.
While a dramatically lighter full-size iPad would be welcomed and would likely give the iPad mini a run for its money, we are less than confident that such a leap in design could be pulled off considering Apple had to compromise on weight and thickness to bring Retina to the iPad.
According to the report, we should expect to see the next generation iPads ship later this fall, possibly as soon as September.
If that seems too long to wait to spend your money on new Apple hardware, that’s okay. Digitimes, which has a hit-or-miss track record on reporting accurate information, also reports that MacBook orders will increase by 20% in the second quarter. We expect a refresh to Apple’s notebooks could be announced at WWDC in three weeks so this isn’t too hard to believe.
If you are still not excited, Macotakara has collected a couple of reports suggesting Apple is currently testing 1.5 OLED displays for the rumored iWatch that it says could possibly launch in December, but we’re not ready to start holding our breath on that one.
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