Information about the iPad 2 leaked today, claiming that the device (which is expected sometime in April) will come with five new features. These feature include: a front-facing camera, lighter weight, USB port, new display glass (similar to iPhone 4) and 3-axis gyroscopes, according to a Chinese-language newspaper via DigiTimes.
It isn’t surprising that Apple will be introducing the front-facing camera to the iPad 2, as the iPhone 4 iPod touch 4G and even Mac’s have device-to-device video conferencing. During the teardown of the original iPad, it showed a placement for a front-facing camera, something that Apple scrapped sometime during the production phase. The camera placement was located in the top middle, when the iPad was held horizontally.
The report also suggests that the iPad 2 will be lighter in weight; a complaint that many customers raised when they first held the iPad. The next shocking feature is the USB port. Being able to load multimedia or even applications through a USB port would be a huge benefit for the device. iPhone-to-iPad 2 tethering anyone?
The newspaper also claims that the iPad 2 will feature ‘new display technology’, which could only mean that Apple plans to use the same glass they used in the iPhone 4 in the iPad 2. This would also mean that Apple would be able to pump a much larger display out of the device, like it did for the iPhone 4.
The last feature leaked is the 3-axis gyroscope. The next iPad will have a 3-axis gyroscope, like the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4G currently have. Gaming on the iPad just got better.
Apple will likely hold another press conference in late March to announce the new iPad 2.