New iPad 5 Front Photos Leak Online
Remember last week, when we got a look at the alleged back casing for Apple’s supposedly forthcoming iPad 5? It seems that whatever metaphorical faucet that these photos are coming from is still quite leaky. A post on MacRumors offers up some photos that are apparently from the iPad 5’s front, as supplied by an Australian repair company called MacFixit.
With the new photos, we’ve got some newish information, in that the details mostly jibe with what we’ve seen so far regarding the as-yet unannounced Apple tablet. As we “know” already, the bezel of the new iPad will be narrower, closer in style to the iPad Mini, offering up more screen real estate to compensate for the slightly narrower body of the device as a whole. Additionally, the new device’s ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), which a transparent conductor, is like that of the iPad Mini as well.
And that’s not the only aspect of the iPad 5 that’s skewing away from former models of the device and closer to smaller Apple gadgets. The post says that the iPad 5’s connectors “have been changed from FFC (Flat Flexible Cable, like the iPad 2/3/4) to FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits, like the iPhone 4/5).” That would, again, be a good move to make if Apple is looking to streamline the already sleek and slim iPad, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this information proved to be accurate.
Of course, not every part of the new iPad is looking to other product lines for inspiration. The post also notes that “the display area is the same as the iPad Retina.” That would certainly point to Apple knowing what works—and the iPad Retina’s display is the best in the business, despite the fact that the name is, for all intents and purposes, kind of gross. Naming an iPad display after a part of the eye that just conjures images of veins and stuff is not necessarily what I would’ve done…but then, that’s probably why I don’t work at Apple.
ANYWAY, we’ve seen the back. We’ve seen the front. We’ve seen the insides, the outsides…we’ve seen everything about the iPad 5 except, well, the iPad 5. The post says that there are expectations for Apple to unveil the new iPad as early as September, and that would certainly make sense if it has plans to be the hot new gadget in time for this year’s holiday season. All we can do is watch…and wait.