Consumers hoping for a third generation iPad launch before the end of the year may be in for a disappointment if upstream component vendors are correct. Anonymous sources in the production stream claim Apple hasn’t ordered any parts for an iPad 3, and they aren’t expecting parts orders to come in any time soon, according to DigiTimes.
An iPad 3 this year? Not likely.
Rumors that Apple would break from its typical annual mobile product release cycle and release a second major update to the iPad line this fall after Daring Fireball’s John Gruber tossed the idea out to the Internet. The iPad 2 shipped in March, nearly a year after the first generation model hit store shelves.
Apple hasn’t indicated that it plans to offer two major updates to the iPad in a singe year, and its historically annual release cycle for the iPhone and iPod touch make a twice-a-year update for the iPad seem somewhat unlikely.
Despite DigiTimes’ hit-and-miss luck with industry sources, there’s a good chance that this time they’re right and that the iPad 3 update rumor that spawned from an off hand comment may be just what it seems: an unlikely rumor.