The next generation iPad will likely be 15% thinner and 25% lighter compared to the currently available iPad 4, Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, a rather accurate analyst, said on Thursday in a research note alongside other juicy information obtained by MacRumors.
The analyst expects the mass production of the tablet to increase around August-September. Here is what Kuo says we can expect from the fifth generation iPad in terms of tech specs.
“We think the tablet will, at 7.5-8.0mm, be 15% thinner than iPad 4. The new device will likely be about 500 grams, or some 25% lighter than iPad 4, run on an A7X processor, and sport cameras with similar specs to the iPad 4’s (front HD, rear 5MP). The casing shape and color (silver and black) and narrow bezel design will be similar to the iPad mini’s.”
An interesting addition to the above is that Apple will make the iPad 5 more power-efficient by using the same GF2 touch technology used in the iPad mini, which also allows the company to design a thinner 9.7-inch display and contribute to the rumoured up to 2mm loss in thickness for the device.
“We therefore think that iPad 5’s battery capacity will be 25-30% smaller, at 8,500-9,000mAh, than iPad 4’s, and the battery’s thickness will be 15-20% smaller, at 7.5-8.0mm, and the number of cells will be reduced to two from three.”
Turns out Samsung can expect new chip orders from Apple, specifically the A7X chip on a 28nm manufacturing process powering the iPad 5, at least from what Kuo’ sources revealed. Although this may surprise some, this is in line with previous information that the A7 chip on a 20nm process manufactured by TSMC will be available only sometime next year.
