iPad 3 said to launch in March or April

Apple’s next-generation iPad tablet will reportedly launch between mid-March and mid-April next year according to a new report. Citing anonymous sources in Apple’s component supply chain, DigiTimes reports that Apple’s iPad 3 will launch in the next three to four months. The sources claim iPad 2 production remains high, likely in the 14 to 15-million unit-range during the fourth quarter this year, but Apple will decrease iPad 2 orders to between 4 and 5 million units in the first quarter of 2012. Foxconn will build between 9.5 and 9.7 million third-generation iPad units in the first quarter according to the report, with production ramping up in February. Read on for more.

Apple’s iPad 3 is expected to be slightly thicker than the second-generation model, seemingly to make room for a high-resolution Retina Display. Earlier reports from an analyst suggested that the iPad 3 would launch in February, but this new report better-aligns with BGR’s exclusive report last week stating that Samsung will unveil a new tablet with a Retina-topping display resolution at Mobile World Congress in February. Samsung is expected to beat Apple’s iPad 3 to market with a launch soon after the new tablet’s unveiling.

Tags: Apple, iPad, iPad 3, launch, launch date, release, release date, Retina Display

Zach Epstein