Purported images of iPad 3 shell surface, said to contain a bigger battery, different display and different cameras

The next generation iPad is nearing its launch and so the rumor mills are now in full force. What we have today, though, is not a rumor but a purported photograph of the aluminum shell of the next generation iPad (which I will refer to as the iPad 3 for now).

What you see above is the aforementioned photograph, with the iPad 3 shell on the right. The photograph was uncovered by RepairLabs, who noticed that the new shell has different mounts for the logic board, which suggests a redesigned logic board, most probably to accommodate a larger battery. They also said that the shell did not look noticeably thicker than the iPad 2′s, which is contrary to current rumors that suggested that the iPad 3 will be slightly thicker.

Next they noticed that the camera seemed a bit different on the iPad 3 compared to the one on the iPad 2. Considering the fact the camera on the iPad 2 was quite lame when it came to still images, it’s likely that Apple would beef it up in the next version. Perhaps we would see auto-focus being included, along with a new back-lit sensor and 1080p video recording.

Lastly, they noticed that the mounting for the LCD is different, which means Apple will be using a different display. This does not necessarily mean that it will be a Retina display, but that does seem to be the most likely explanation.

As usual, we would suggest you take this information with a pinch of salt. It’s not uncommon these days to find images tuned expertly in a way that they would align perfectly with the currently circulating rumors, thus making the viewer believe that they might in fact be real. However, it doesn’t seem like it will be long before we find out what the iPad 3 really is like. That is assuming Apple sticks with its March schedule for announcing new iPads.

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