Leaked photos show iPad 5

Photos of a prototype back piece for the fifth-generation iPad have been leaked by a “purported China-based iPad accessories maker,” according to a new report. The photos show a smaller, thinner casing with chamfered edges and virtually no left or right bezel, confirming our exclusive report from last week.
The top of the backplate indicates that this is an LTE model. Our sources have said the fifth-generation iPad will launch in or near October.
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More leaks and Rumors state strong Evidence for new iOS Devices Marching up Fast

Mockup by Falco

As the year progresses and as we get closer to the manufacturing and launches of Apple’s next-generation iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches), claimed pieces of evidence for these devices will appear. Today, two rumored pieces of evidence have surfaced.
Purported future-generation iPhone speaker components:

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NoWhereElse, who has published accurate photos in the past, has posted images of what it is claiming to be speaker components for two future iPhone generations. The report claims that these components are for an “iPhone 5S” (a next-generation iPhone with an iPhone 5 body), and an iPhone 6 (a redesigned handset). The claim is that the iPhone 5S will arrive this summer while the iPhone 6 is set for early 2014.
We, nor the report, can vouch for the authenticity of these parts. It is important to note, that while NoWhereElse has published accurate photos in the past, the site has been frequently inaccurate with reports based on images.
Additionally, we find it more likely, that if the parts are indeed legitimate, that one would be for the “iPhone 5S” device and the other for the rumored “cheaper” iPhone. Based on several recent reports, it seems likely that Apple’s 2013 iPhone strategy is a tweaked iPhone 5 and a cheaper iPhone, not a tweaked iPhone 5 and an iPhone revamp.
iOS 6.1 beta code purportedly points to 128GB iOS devices:

Following the latest beta release of the upcoming iOS 6.1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system, developers have begun tearing away at the software to see what secrets it may hold about the future of Apple’s devices. @iNeal made the discovery that iOS 6.1 beta 5 holds a reference to compatibility with 128GB iOS devices. Jeff Benjamin dug up the code that @iNeal is referring to, and he has provided screenshots of the evidence. He notes that iOS 6.0 does not include the “128″ system partition code.
Update: We understand that this 128GB code is also found in iOS 6.1 beta 3, which was released in early December.
Historically, Apple has doubled the available iPhone storage each time it provides a more minor “S” upgrade. For example, with the launch of the iPhone 3GS in 2009, Apple doubled the storage from 8GB and 16GB to 16GB and 32GB. With the iPhone 4S in 2011, Apple introduced a 64GB model. Following this pattern, it would not be far-fetched to assume that Apple is working on a 128GB version of the already-rumored “iPhone 5S” for this year. Additionally, with the aging iPod classic still on the market, it is plausible that Apple would like to introduce a higher-capacity iPod touch so it can finally discontinue the iPod classic.
Apple’s “iPhone 5S” is rumored to include a faster processor, 13 megapixel camera sensor, a fingerprint sensor, and an improved camera LED flash system. Numerous reports have also claimed that Apple will introduce a cheaper iPhone this year for emerging markets. That device has been claimed to include a plastic shell, versus the glass and aluminum enclosure of the iPhone 5. A version of the iPad mini with a Retina display and a fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad with iPad mini design elements have also been rumored to be in the 2013 Apple product roadmap. It seems that all of the devices will be launching in the second half of the year.

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iPad 5 and iPhone 5s release date

Fifth Generation iPad Coming in October It will be significantly thinner than the current iPad.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release an overhauled iPad and possibly two iPhones this year, iLounge notes. The fifth-generation standard-sized iPad will debut in October and will feature a much thinner profile, possibly adopting IGZO touchscreen technology to shave millimeters off its thickness. The new iPad will also feature smaller bezels, following the iPad Mini’s lead. The next iPhone, the iPhone 5S, will be an update to the current model, which may frustrate some Apple enthusiasts, but could feature a larger rear flash for camera use, and will debut in October. A lower-priced iPhone is also under development, apparently for emerging markets like China. The low cost iPhone will feature a plastic casing to reduce costs. Finally, a 4.7-inch screen iPhone is in development, dubbed the iPhone +, but is unlikely to be released this year.

Dethroned: The recent sharp slide in Apple’s share price has cost the company the title of the “worlds most valuable company,” CNET notes. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has reclaimed the title as Apple shares dropped to $439.23, putting its market capitalization at $412.7 billion, compared to Exxon’s $417.2 billion. The two companies have been vying for the title since 2011, but Apple pulled past the global energy giant in August as its shares rose sharply, ultimately exceeding $700 a share. Rising concerns about its competitiveness against Android smartphones, especially those from Samsung, and quarterly results that missed inflated Wall Street expectations have sent the stock tumbling since.

Betting on the Future: In documents filed with regulators on Thursday, Apple revealed that it spent $1 billion on research and development during the December quarter, the Los Angeles Times notes. That’s up 33% from the same period in the previous year. During a conference call relating to its recent quarterly results, company officials assured investors that Apple had a full pipeline of new products in development. Among those new products could be the long-rumored Apple-branded TV.

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Apple’s 2013 in Rumors: Fingerprint Sensors and More Retina Displays, but No iTV

A much slimmer iPad, an iPad Mini with a Retina display and an iPhone with a built-in fingerprint reader could all be on tap for 2013, according to one industry analyst.
As MacRumors reports, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has published a research report that tries to predict Apple‘s entire 2013 product lineup. Although analysts tend to have terrible track records with Apple rumors, Kuo is a notable exception.
Let’s do a quick look at some of his past forecasts:

• Kuo’s January 2011 predictions about the iPad 2, including the dual-core processor, camera specs and screen resolution turned out mostly accurate. (He was off by 0.2 GHz on the clock speed of the A5 chip.)
• Apple’s iPhone 5 achieved a thickness of under 8 mm, thanks to in-cell touch technology and the use of a metal back plate instead of glass, just as Kuo predicted five months before launch.
• As Kuo expected, Apple discontinued the 17-inch MacBook Pro last year and redesigned its iMacs, but without Retina displays.

That’s a pretty good track record. So let’s hear out Kuo’s predictions for 2013:

• The iPhone 5S will be similar to its predecessor, but with a faster processor, a better camera with smart LED flash and a fingerprint reader built into the home button, which would reduce the need for passwords everywhere. Keep in mind that Apple acquired AuthenTec, a maker of fingerprint sensor technology, last year.
• A cheaper iPhone for prepaid and emerging markets–a popular rumor these days–would be a lot like the iPhone 5, but with a plastic enclosure, available in six colors.
• The next iPad will be considerably slimmer and lighter. That’d make sense given that Apple had to add bulk to its third-generation iPad to accommodate a Retina display. Kuo expects the iPad Mini to get a Retina display as well this year.
• Non-Retina display MacBook Pros will meet their maker this year, as Apple moves to an all-Retina lineup at lower prices than before.
• The MacBook Air line won’t get Retina displays this year, Kuo believes. Their main improvement will be an upgrade to Intel‘s Haswell platform, which will allow for better battery life. Apple’s iMac and Mac Mini line may get a similar upgrade, sans Retina.
• The fourth-generation iPod Touch will be discontinued, but Apple may sell a cheaper fifth-generation model in its place, with 8 GB of storage and no rear camera, starting at $199.
• Kuo thinks the Apple TV set-top box will get a refresh, but didn’t offer any details. The fabled Apple television, however, appears to be drifting off to 2014 due to those pesky content issues.

Kuo thinks most of this stuff will happen in the second half of the year, with the exception of a first quarter Apple TV refresh and new MacBook Airs in late Q2.
While there aren’t a lot of wild and crazy things on the list, Apple tends to avoid radical changes to its products, despite conventional wisdom. The fact that most of these predictions are quite reasonable–tame, even–makes me more likely to believe them. The most contentious claims are the less expensive iPhone (which smart Apple watchers no longer dismiss outright) and thumbprint tracking in the iPhone 5S (which at this point just seems like a matter of time). I wouldn’t count on Kuo’s forecast proving 100 percent accurate, but as a rough estimate of what to expect from Apple this year, it works.

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iPad 5 rumored to launch in March, Retina iPad Mini with A6X SoC in the works

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Rumors of the fifth-generation iPad (iPad 5) and iPad Mini 2 have started to roll off the Apple supply chain in China. If the leaks are to be believed, the iPad 5 will be thinner and lighter, and also feature a new design that’s similar to the iPad Mini (i.e. slightly shorter and narrower than the iPad 4). The iPad Mini 2 will keep the same 7.9-inch display, but make the jump to Retina resolution (2048×1536) and also move to the A6X SoC (currently only found in the iPad 4).
The fifth-generation iPad (which should emerge in March 2013) will be 4mm shorter, 16mm narrower, and 2mm thinner than the fourth-gen iPad — in other words, it’ll look a lot like the iPad Mini, with its narrower portrait bezel. By losing 2mm in depth, the iPad 5 would be just 7.4mm. This size reduction will reduce the weight of the iPad 5, but it might also impact battery life, unless Apple has a trick up its sleeve. It’s possible that Apple could reveal an A7 SoC in March, based on some kind of 28nm process (perhaps in association with TSMC), but unlikely.
The iPad Mini 2 is probably a more exciting proposition. If the rumors are correct, this diminutive iPad will feature a 2048×1536 (326 PPI) display and the bleeding-edge A6X SoC. This would mean that the iPad Mini 2 would have the same hardware spec as the iPad 4 — but half the weight and half the price. Suffice it to say, if the iPad Mini wasn’t exciting enough to divert attention away from the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire, then this second generation certainly would be. According to the Chinese site Zol, the release date of the second-gen iPad Mini isn’t yet known. It will probably be March 2013, or perhaps on its first birthday in November.
To be honest, though, these leaked specs sound a little too good. Apple’s last few product refreshes have focused more on gradual evolution (i.e. milking profits) than making huge technological leaps. At the moment there is a clear technological gap between the full-size iPad and the Mini — this rumored iPad Mini 2 would basically mean the iPad’s only advantage is a slightly larger screen. But who knows: If Apple feels threatened in the 7-inch tablet space, then an overpowered iPad Mini 2 would be a very good way of silencing the critics.
Meanwhile, of course, Apple stock is currently enjoying its worst ever period of trading, plummeting from a high of $700 per share in September down to $500 in December. There’s a mix of reasons for this precipitous fall, but it mostly seems to revolve around the belief that the iDevices have probably hit their peak. This is borne out by reports from Apple’s supply chain that the iPhone 5 is not selling as well as the iPhone 4S. With iDevices at their zenith, and no other revolutionary device seemingly on the horizon (except perhaps the Apple iTV), investors are concerned about the future growth of Apple.

Click Here for iPad Mini Rumors

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iPad Mini 2 Release Date, Specs, Rumours Round-up and Wish List

iPad mini 2 release date will be announced sometime in the second half of the year, according to rumours in tech sites. Those considering buying the next version of the smaller iPad are advised to wait out because the next iPad mini will feature better screen display.

iPad Mini 2 Release Date: Too soon?
The general presumption among bloggers is that iPad mini 2 will be released in the fall season, so that would mean a holiday budget allocation to many gadgeteers. Considering manufacturing design, research and manufacturing considerations (among many others), it does seem too early to tell whether 2013 would see a new iPad mini.
iPad Mini 2 Specs in the Rumour Mill
Digitimes has been frequently cited for its speculation that the next iPad mini will feature a resolution of 2058 x 1536 pixels for a 326 ppi. This gives hope that Apple might add Retina display in the next generation iPad mini. The 7.9-inch screen size is expected to be maintained by Apple.
The iPad mini screen display currently has a pixel density of 163 ppi. In contrast, Nexus 7 packs 216 ppi in its screen. A lot of gadget shoppers were disappointed to find out that Retina was absent in the iPad mini when it was released in November. Apple is likely to make up for this in its next release.

iPad Mini 2 Wish List: Retina Display, Increased Memory, Reasonable Price and User-friendly Weight
When it comes to desired updates and improvements, there are at least four factors in the wish list of Apple users. Aside from the Retina display, users have pointed out a needed increase in memory (currently 512 MB) and a better pricing. The last factor may border on the impossible, but buyers can wish.
Some iPad mini users shifted from regular-sized iPads to the iPad mini over weight issues. At only 308 g (WiFi only) and 312 g (3G), the iPad mini is a light device for browsing, movie watching and e-book reading. It is hoped that the next generation iPad mini will not put on more weight, or if it does, may it still be easy on the hands.

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Apple iPad Fifth Generation Release Date Tipped For March 2013; Device Will Be Thinner, Lighter, More Like iPad Mini

With the launch of the iPad 4 couple of months ago, Apple did indicate that it was trying something different with the year-long rotation of its product lines. Now if a latest report coming out of Asia is to be believed, the Cupertino tech giant is preparing the fifth generation iPad with the release date tipped for as early as March, next year.

Japanese blog Macotakara reported, citing people familiar with the matter that Apple would release a thinner and lighter version of the 9.7-inch iPad in March 2013. The report also added that the device would come with a new look, closely resembling the iPad mini that featured the iPhone 5’s black/ slate and white/ silver designs.

Here is an excerpt from the report:

“However Chinese news ZOL (CBS Interactive) reported next iPad mini in AppleInsider's article, according to my inside source, iPad (5) may be released in March, 2013. Source told that, design of this new iPad will be like iPad mini in detail, and be thinner and lightweight.”
The report also stated some dimensions for the fifth generation iPad iteration – “4mm in height, 17mm in width, depth 2mm.” As 9TO5Mac pointed out, although “these numbers are obviously unrealistic expectations for the fifth-generation iPad’s actual size, these numbers would make sense in the context of being millimeters smaller in all of the iPad’s physical dimensions than the current iPad.”
Given that the existing fourth generation iPad comes in dimensions of 241.2mm by 185.7mm by 9.4mm, subtracting Macotakara’s numbers “would point to a thinner iPad that is slightly shorter and narrower.”
If the rumors turn out true, the next-generation iPad could be as thin as 7.2mm thin iPad mini.
The March 2013 release of the fifth generation iPad would definitely be aggressive by Apple. But blasting out new iPad updates every six months would help the company “to make sure Microsoft, Google, Samsung and Amazon can't catch up in the tablet market,” Business Insider has reported.
While Steve Jobs’ focus was on visionary products, CEO Tim Cook, with his expertise in managing the supply chain, could differentiate Apple “by launching premium products that are continuously refreshed,” the report added.
The Macotakara also claimed that the second generation iPad mini was also under preparation. The smaller iPad would likely feature an all-new 7.9-inch Retina display with the same resolution as the third and fourth generation iPads (2048 x 1536 pixels) and an A6X processor.
In November, DigiTimes also reported that the upcoming version of the iPad could be released in "Middle of 2013,” boosting “demand for ICs in particular communication-related chips during the latter half of the first quarter.”

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