Apple may release three separate versions of the iPad next year, reports AppleInsider, although the company is still expected to launch the Retina display toting iPad 3 in March.
According to Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes, Apple could break their tablet offerings into three categories, introducing an iPad 3 with a Retina display, an iPad 2S focused on speed and power, and a converted $299 “budget” version of the iPad 2.
Despite his claims, Reitzes still expects Apple to launch the iPad 3 in March, which will include a Retina display, Siri voice recognition, and a faster processor, and also believe Apple will continue offering the iPad 2 (while the iPad 2S would be faster and feature Siri).
Of course, this is an utter load of crap – it’s extremely unlikely that Apple would release three iPads next year (while continuing to offer the iPad 2), as it would make choosing far more difficult for consumers.
Such a move could also fragment iOS in a terrible way, causing developers to tailor their apps to each device, rather than releasing universal apps that can run on all iPads.
Not to mention that it would be a production nightmare to manufacture that many iPads, each in Wifi-only and 3G options (and multiple storage capacities), and to gage consumer demand for each device.
In short, there’s basically no way on earth Apple would ever do something like this – but hey, rumors are rumors, right? I just wonder why he left the 7″ iPad mini out of his rumor-spinning fun?
