Apple's next tablet, the iPad 5, will apparently be 15 percent thinner and 25 percent lighter than the current iPad 4.
That's according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who recently released a new research note on the matter.
"We think the tablet will, at 7.5-8.0mm, be 15 percent thinner than iPad 4," he said, adding that "the new device will likely be about 500 grams, or some 25 percent lighter than iPad 4."
Both the iPad 4 and its close predecessor the iPad 3 have been criticised for coming in thicker and heavier than the iPad 2. This is most unlike Apple, which tends to make each new device thinner than the last.
Apparently the new full-size iPad will adopt the same GF2 screen technology as the iPad mini, which enabled a significantly thinner tablet device than we had seen previously.
iPad 5 Specs
Kuo also took time to list some of the other expected specifications for the iPad 5, claiming that it would "run on an A7X processor, and sport cameras with similar specs to the iPad 4’s (front HD, rear 5MP)."
Thanks to these new display and processor components, the iPad 5 will be a far more energy-efficient device. This in turn will enable Apple to use a smaller battery, shaving yet more from the overall size and weight.
In fact, Kuo claims that the iPad 5’s battery capacity "will be 25-30 percent smaller, at 8,500-9,000mAh, than iPad 4’s, and the battery’s thickness will be 15-20 percent smaller, at 7.5-8.0mm, and the number of cells will be reduced to two from three."
He also confirmed the widespread rumour that "the casing shape and color (silver and black) and narrow bezel design will be similar to the iPad mini’s."
Kuo expects shipments of the iPad 5 to ramp up some time in August or September.
Via: MacRumours
