One thing about Apple's release schedule is that as the iPhone is the flagship device, the iPad will have to wait at least nine months before it can catch up hardware-wise.
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iPad 2nd Generation Discussion
- Thread starter CrackedButter
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Uh, the iPad currently has newer and better internals than the 3GS. Won't it be the iPhone that is catching up?
I think both devices will have advancements in internals, it keeps you buying year-round. The lull will be around the end of the year, when the internals for both devices are slightly cheaper for Apple so their profits will look even better.
As the iPhone comes with a brand new OS each year, it's bound to see new hardware features first - such as front-facing camera, GPS etc.
A faster processor/wifi are only an increment of existing functionality, not a new innovation/selling point as such.
I have the same feeling. Since the biggest upgrade in OS 4 is multi-tasking, I anticipate that the ipad will get a processor upgrade to take advantage of this. It will probably also get a camera and maybe a few little tweaks.
Well yeah, there WAS that but seeing as how it doesn't seem to register with some I thought I'd try for something different
They have announced that the 3GS can do multitasking, and the ipad's processor is already significantly faster than that. Besides, the next upgrade will be to the Cortex A9 not due for most commercial devices until the end of the year. I do not see an upgrade coming until early next year.
The camera question (for chat, we assume, as on the 'new' 'leaked' 'stolen' whatever iPhone) always seems to me to be difficult to use.
I assume (yes, I know) that it would be a fixed camera (like the iPhone. (Meaning, you can't physically swivel it like some addon webcams.
So, if you want to use it for chat, you need to aim it. Would you put the iPad in a dock and then what? Aim via software? The dock is tilted at 15 (or something degrees), and only in portrait orientation. So,, it would need a bit of range.
Would it have auto-follow (face recognition/watching/following)? More multi-tasking...
Anyone want to comment on how they think the 'chat camera' would actually be used?
I assume (yes, I know) that it would be a fixed camera (like the iPhone. (Meaning, you can't physically swivel it like some addon webcams.
So, if you want to use it for chat, you need to aim it. Would you put the iPad in a dock and then what? Aim via software? The dock is tilted at 15 (or something degrees), and only in portrait orientation. So,, it would need a bit of range.
Would it have auto-follow (face recognition/watching/following)? More multi-tasking...
Anyone want to comment on how they think the 'chat camera' would actually be used?
It's a Magical and Revolutionary device, and the 2nd generation will be Supernatural and Rebellious, leading one to wonder whether the 3rd will be Self-Aware and Cantankerous. The 4th will feature a talking head which passes the Turing Test and renders humans nearly obsolete, save for their ability to uses hands and feet in slave-like fashion. I'm not sure about the 5th and 6th, but I am thoroughly convinced that the 7th will be produced with neither the need nor desire for human intervention, if we have survived at all.
I don't think it'll be that tough... the way you hold it naturally - with the screen facing you - will likely be good enough to be properly positioned for video chat. I don't see how this would be a problem. If anything I think it would work pretty damn well considering how you naturally handle the device.
But - I'm telling you - when they release OS 4 for iPad in the Fall, there will be an update. Could be minimal - price drop, RAM increase (the most beneficial/needed upgrade for the future), front facing camera, OS 4 iPad specific features (which won't really affect the early adopters) - but there's no doubt in my mind there will be some kind of update.
But - all Apple devices have relatively good resale values. So, if it's a feature you can't live without and you have a minimal amount of business sense, it shouldn't be that big of a loss to upgrade.
1) Price drop is not an update.
2) They can't just pop in a new stick of RAM, it's part of the A4 SoC design. Not going to happen until the A5 or whatever the next one is called.
3) Camera this fall? I'll take that bet, I'll even give you odds.
4) OS4 iPad specific features is not a hardware update, that is certainly going to happen. Everybody knows that is going to happen, it's not much of a prediction.
The only thing that is in the realm of possibility is dropping the 16GB and introducing a 128GB, and even that's pretty unlikely this fall.
I'm just trying to help the original poster with the information available. The one thing I do know is that each MAJOR iPhone OS update has come with a concurrent hardware upgrade for each device that uses the OS.
iPhone OS 1.X => First generation iPhone/first generation iPod Touch
iPhone OS 2.X => iPhone 3G, 2nd Generation iPod Touch
iPhone OS 3.X => iPhone 3GS, 3rd generation iPod Touch, 1st Generation iPad
iPhone OS 4.X => iPhone 4, 4th generation iPod Touch, 2nd Generation iPad
To say that my prediction is very unlikely makes it seem like you are disregarding the history of iPhone OS/hardware updates - which is really the only logical thing we can be basing any predictions off of. I also think that a price reduction should be considered an update to the line that the OP should keep in mind before purchasing if he/she is on the fence - although I realize the major concern is a camera. Regardless - after thinking about it - it's pointless to say one of our predictions is more likely than the other since no one could possibly know. But.... I do like my logic and will thus arrogantly make the following proclamation which I'm sure will bite me in the *** later => NEW IPAD HARDWARE IN THE FALL!
...plus... you have to watch the last minute of the iPhone OS 4 keynote when Steve Jobs mentions the iPad OS 4 update in the fall. There's something subtle and very suspicious about it... ha....
The problem with your road map logic is that the iphone os that runs on ipad is quite different than the iphone version. iPhone OS 3.2 for ipad already has user changeable backgrounds, ibooks, bluetooth keyboard support, etc. These specific features make iPhone OS 4 for the ipad seem like a small update aside from multitasking. On the iphone side, all of the above features are lacking, making iPhone OS 4 seem like a major update. With the introduction of the iPad in a late OS 3 cycle, changes things. With the release of iPhone OS 4 in june, comes the first device to fully utilize it on the hardware side and that is the iPhone HD or whatever they are going to call it. The iPod touch hardware update will coincide with the mid cycle of iPhone OS 4 usually in September. The iPad hardware update will occur in the late cycle of iPhone OS 4, somewhere between january and april but, given that the first iphone was introduced in january and released in june and consequent iterations were released in june, we can probably bet that the next iPad or second gen will arrive around next march or april. Now in terms of price drops or storage bumps, I do not believe that would be considered another generation of a device. But the possibility of a camera on the next iPad, to me, will be determined based on if the iPod touch ends up getting a camera in September. If that is the case then we can definitely expect a camera on the next ipad.
Ok, you've got me there.
I failed to take into account Jobs' suspicious remarks. Interpreting those is not my strong suit. And I admire your optimism. There is so much buyers remorse in this thread. Sorry but some people don't want to buy first gen products.
Remember the "I'm holding out for a 3G iPhone" threads? Those came under the same scrutiny.
Remember the "I'm holding out for a 3G iPhone" threads? Those came under the same scrutiny.
You need to spend more time reading the news on your iPad and stop dreaming. Jobs will NEVER allow flash, period