Next Tuesday Apple will hold its annual pre-Christmas press conference, where speculation suggests it will unveil more than one new product to put on Santa’s list. (Invites read ‘We still have a lot to cover’.)
In decreasing level of likelihood they could include: a new iPad Mini, a new MacBook Pro and the much-discussed iWatch.
One dead cert, though, is the launch of their fifth generation iPad, aka the iPad 5. But what will it be like? Let us count down the rumours.
1 | It will be the same size as the iPad 4
Rumours and leaked photos suggest it will retain the same 9.7-inch, high-resolution display of all the earlier models.
2 | …Though it’ll be thinner!
Current thinking is it will have a narrower bezel, a lighter design and be 1.5cm thinner. The overall feel will have been revised to better match that of the iPad Mini.
3 | …And lighter!
Possibly a third lighter than the current full-size iPad.
4 | It’ll have a better camera
The camera is due an upgrade, and Apple may add an 8PMP rear-facing lens in keeping with the current iPhone 5 camera – with the possibility of even a 12MP camera being added.
5 | It might have ‘haptic feedback’
AKA the tactile feedback found in Android devices, where vibrations and motions are passed back to the user, from screen to finger.
6 | It might work with gloves
There’s been reports that Apple has worked with Sharp on a completely new screen for the iPad 5, one that would be super-thin and so responsive you could type emails while wearing mittens.
7 | There will be new colour options
Though Apple’s invites to the 22 October press conference featured an image of multicoloured, cascading leaves and the recent iPhone 5c had a plastic cover that came in yellow, blue, green and white, it’s difficult to imagine such a funtastic palate being applied to the daddy iPad. A better bet for new colour options are slate (as currently offered on the iPad Mini), gold and/ or grey.
8 | It’ll open with your fingerprint
Like the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5, will Touch ID be a feature of the new iPad?
9 | It’ll be faster
The current iPad 4 features Apple’s latest A6X processor which doubles the speed of its predecessor, and is also loads more efficient. It’s reasonable to assume next year’s iPhone 6 will sport the next-generation A7 processor, with this year’s iPad 5 sporting a variant. In short: it’ll be the fastest iPad yet.
10 | But it’ll cost the same
Apple will probably stick with its traditional pricing strategy and charge the same for its new products as it did for its outgoing models. So the 16GB iPad 5 is expected to cost around £399, rising to £479 for the 32GB and £599 for the 64GB.
