Apple set to unveil iPad HD, iPad 3 at news conference

Written by Matt Swider on March 07, 2012

News: All of the iPad 3 rumors will be laid to rest when liveblogs give you the play-by-play of Apple's 10 AM Pacific press conference.

iPad HD or iPad 3, the name doesn't matter, just the specs.

Apple will be unveiling the next iPad, rumored forever to be called iPad 3 and now being dubbed iPad HD, and it's all happening this morning at its press conference in San Francisco. Tim Cook is expected to take the stage at 10 AM Pacific for the first big Apple event since Steve Jobs died last year. Top iPad features rumored include a higher resolution screen, faster wireless data speeds, an upgraded processor, either the A5X CPU or A6 CPU and more RAM, all of which will help gamers play the latest and greatest game apps on the go. Let's break down the iPad 3 rumors one last time.

Update: Follow along with the iPad 3 press conference at Engadget!

iPad 3 Retina Display
From the Apple news event invitation to the ?leaked? photos of the iPad 3, everyone's expecting the new device to sport a higher resolution Retina Display. This is something that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S have right now, so it's a natural progression for Apple's iPad line. Of course, the graphics will be even more crisp since this Retina Display will be 9.7 - if the iPad 3's screen size stays the same as the iPad 1 and iPad 2. Seeing games like Infinity Blade II and Real Racing 2 in glorious HD on such a large screen is probably the best feature that gamers can look forward to.

iPad 3 to be 4G LTE
The growing prominence of 4G speeds means that Apple is finally ready to climb aboard the LTE train and the train have been timed better with the impending iPad 3 announcement. iPad users have a bit more contempt for 3G because they're constantly using Safari and Internet connected apps - more so than on the iPhone - and yet this feature-rich device runs at the same data speed. That should be put this rest this morning. Downloading the latest update for all of your under 20 MB game apps shouldn't be as much of a problem going forward. Let's just hope that AT&T and Verizon don't jack up the 4G monthly price in parallel with this announcement.

iPad 3's 1GB of RAM
The rumor that iPad 3's internals will include 1 GB of RAM seem dead on thanks to the rule of ?double it.? That's because the first iPad had 256 GB of RAM and the iPad 2 bumped the RAM up to 512 MB. So, 1 GB certainly seems like a reasonable rumor and should keep your iPad's multi-tasking brain sane when you're texting, Facetiming, surfing the net and have a game open in the background all at the same time.

Quad Core iPad 3
The rumors that iPad 3 was going to get the A6 processor, a step up from the A5 found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, made it seem like the next-generation of game apps were right around the corner. Then the leaked photos of an A5X processor came to light and a lot of peoples hopes were dashed. But that doesn't mean that the A5X CPU was ever final (or real for that matter). And even if it is the real deal, the speed of an A5X processor should be enhanced enough to give developers more resource room to work with more demanding games.

iPad 3 should bring iOS 6 for all modern iPhones
This rumor is hard not to believe because iOS devices are routinely released along with an upgrade to the operating system. With that pattern in mind, the iPad 3 should bring along iOS 6 as the next big update. Now, what iOS 6 is comprised of is anyone's guess. Hopefully, since iOS 5 was all about the iCloud, it takes the service to the next level with improved Reminders (an all-inclusive list would be helpful), Facebook integration (like Twitter is part of the OS now), and Siri for one and all... yes, even Siri for my iPhone 4. I can dream and I didn't go as far as to ask for true app switching or photos in phone contacts, but those would be nice too.

Siri for iPad 3
Siri was the big highlight of the iPhone 4S at the last Apple press conference and there's growing speculation that iPad 3 will also see the voice activated software. I'd say the chances are 50/50. Siri is a great little tool, but it's certainly more useful for an one-the-go phone that's sometimes hard to manage when in the car. Likewise, not everyone will have 3G built into their iPad 3 (if the WiFi-only model pattern holds true), so it'll only be useful to some iPad 3 owners. Siri can come out eventually, but can't be a big highlight of this press conference.

iPad 3 needs better battery life
The iPhone 4S suffered from an inconsistent battery at launch and Apple scrambled. The company did the same when the iPhone 4 had antenna issues in 2010. What did Apple do? They remedied the situation the next year. The same can hold true for the battery for iPad 3, which could be a reason why the leaked casing is reported to be a big bigger than the iPad 2.

In an hour, we'll know exactly what the team at Apple has in store for the iPad line over the next 12 months. Whether it's called iPad 3 or iPad HD, the next-gen iPad device will likely enhance your gaming habits. We'll bring you the news as soon as the actual specs get announced.