Edible Apple

A few weeks ago, Jason Horwitz of iLounge wrote that Apple, in conjunction with the release of the iPad 3, will continue selling the iPad 2, albeit at a lower pricepoint. Specifically, Horwitz anticipates the iPad 3 will debut at the same buy-in price we’ve come to expect ($499) while the iPad 2 will drop down to $399.

Horwitz generally has a great track record when it comes to Apple rumors, and now his report is being corroborated by Digitimes which claims that Apple isn’t putting an end to iPad 2 display shipments, but rather adjusting them downward.

With fewer than one million panels shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011, Apple will keep increasing the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad to 6.0-7.0 million panels in the first quarter and 10.0 million units in the third quarter of 2012, the sources pointed out.

In the meantime, Apple has downwardly adjusted shipments of iPad 2 panels from the peak of 16.0 million panels in the third quarter to 10.0 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and further to 7.0-8.0 million units in the first quarter of 2012, the sources indicated. Thus, the shipment volume of panels for use in the new version of iPad will surpass that of iPad 2 panels in the second quarter of 2012, the sources noted.

The iPad 3 display, of course, differs from the iPad 2 display to the extent the iPad 3 will come with a 204xx1536 Retina Display as opposed to the 1024×768 display Apple implemented on the original iPad and the iPad 2.

Digitimes as of late has had an incredibly poor track record with respect to Apple’s future plans, but every once in a while they’re on the ball. And seeing as how this report aligns with Horwitz’s post, we’re inclined to take it at face value.

As for other features we might expect see on the iPad 3, previous reports have claimed that Apple’s next-gen tablet will include a quad-core processor, support for 4G LTE networks, and a front facing HD camera.