There's a new iPad on the way - here's what we know so far




The announcement of the iPad 4 during Apple's October 2012 event came as a surprise to many, but one expert was quick to predict that the company would release a thinner, lighter iPad 5 in early 2013.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for KGI Securities, the fourth generation full-sized iPad (and the iPad mini, which was launched at the same event) might not be enough to fend off competitors. Kuo cited Microsoft'sSurface tablet as posing a particular risk to Apple's dominance. Hey, don't laugh, Surface has grabbed 7.5 per cent of recent market share, and Surface 2 has popped out too now.
Now we have a more likely release date, more pictures apparently showing the device in all its glory (with components too) so read on to find the best information rounded up from the web about the new iPad.

iPad 5 release date

Our current thinking is that we'll see the iPad 5 launched at an event some time in October 2013, the the 15 Oct the most likely date at the moment. Given the comparative schedule of last year's iPad Mini and iPad 4 launch, this seems to make a lot of sense.
Digitimes reported on 19 November 2012 that the iPad 5 release date would be "around the middle of 2013", while on 24 December 2012, an "inside source" talking to Japanese site Macotakara, wrongly pegged the new iPad release date as March 2013.
Citing an April release, apparently knowledgeable sources revealed to iMore in March that the iPad 5 would be available in April. Given the date now, those sources might want to re-label themselves as "not at all knowledgeable".
On 25 January, iLounge editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz, claiming to have seen the new iPad 5, wrote that the fifth-gen iPad would not go on sale until October 2013. That sounds more likely to us, and looks to have been validated as the month approaches. Horwitz also said that the iPad mini 2would be launched in the same month.
We've also heard, via a report on International Business Times, that Apple is ditching Foxconn as its iPad-manufacturing partner due to the "unreliability" of the Chinese firm (which also happens to be producing Android handsets and recently announced its own wearable tech that could compete with the iWatch).
Apparently, this split is causing a delay in getting those new iPads made, although the supposed delay puts the iPad 5 release date sometime in the Autumn, again corroborating what we're hearing.

iPad 5 price

When Apple introduces a new product it's usually priced to match the one that it supersedes. So with this in mind, we're looking at US$499 (£399, AU$539) for the Wi-Fi-only 16GB iPad 5, US$599 (£479, AU$649) for the 32GB model, US$699 (£559, AU$759) for the 64GB and US$799 (£639, AU$869) for the 128GB iPad.
International Business Times doesn't necessarily agree, though. In a 1 July report, the site talks of how it's "speculated" (by who, we don't know) that Apple will price the iPad 5 at $100 less than the $499 launch price of the iPad 4. Why would it do this? Because the iPad 2 is due to be discontinued and Apple wants "something in the $399 spot," writes IB Times. Hmmm.
It seems more likely the iPad 4 would occupy this slot, or slightly lower, with Apple maintaining its love of incredibly high profit margins for products that don't cost a whole lot to make.

iPad 5 features and specifications

Apple gave the iPad 4 a new A6X processor system-on-a-chip, which it claims to be twice as fast as the previous iPad.
It also gained the new lightning connector and better LTE support. But that's all the new features iPad fans got with the fourth-gen tablet.
And considering the current iPad is the same weight, thickness and price point as its predecessor, it's very possible Apple is looking to produce a slimmed-down version.

iPad 5 display

The new iPad 5 could pack all new display technology when it launches, using "GF DITO" (or GF2) touchscreen tech to make it 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than its bigger brother.
Last year, analyst Paul Mueller predicted the new iPad would have a 16:9 ratio screen, claiming he'd talked to sources who had seen it. This is really unlikely to happen, given the amount of work Apple would need to do to bring its apps in line, and how much effort it's put into convincing the world of 4:3.
But who will be producing the display for the new iPad? Not Samsung,reckons GottaBe Mobile, claiming that Apple is "actively moving away from Samsung for the next generation of mobile products."
The ever-present DigiTimes reckons the iPad screens will be supplied by LG and Sharp, but then again given the accuracy of that site it could be made by Ford for all we know.

iPad 5 processor

As we mentioned earlier, the new A7 chip is a cert to be used in the new iPad 5, if not an upgraded version that's designed for the larger tablet.
Patently Apple lent weight to the notion of Apple taking its processor manufacturing business away from its best buddy Samsung, citing a report published on 10 April 2013. According to the report: the "chasm between Samsung Electronics and Apple is expected to widen further as Apple has excluded its Korean rival from a project to develop A7 application processors due to be released in the first half of next year."
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons that the Apple/Samsung partnership has some life left, though, which would make sense given Samsung made the recent chip in Apple's iPhone.
As picked up by MacRumors on 17 April, Kuo wrote that the iPad 4 would be powered by an A7X processor and that Apple would be staying with Samsung for this chip at least.