Three days away from the introduction of the iPad 2, most details about the device have already been uncovered.
Here is a roundup of what is known so far.
Form factor
The iPad 2 will be slightly smaller than the first generation iPad, and will sport a thinner, flat back shell.
Display
While some suspicious artwork found in the beta version of iOS 4.3 seemed to indicate that the device would come with a retina-grade display offering a resolution of 2048×1536 pixels, Apple allegedly decided to stick to the screen resolution found in the first generation iPad, 1024×768. While Apple is indeed experimenting with 2048×1536 pixels displays, they will not be offered before the launch of the iPad 3 later this year.
Processor
The device was initially expected to come with a new dual-core, ARM Cortex-A9-based processor tentatively called ‘Apple A5’, but it appears the iPad 2 will ‘only’ feature an updated version of the single core A4, the processor found in the first generation iPad and the iPhone 4. The processor is expected to be clocked at a higher speed, most likely 1.2GHz, and may potentially include an updated PowerVR graphics engine as well, the newer SGX543 from Imagination Technologies.
Memory
While the first generation iPad only comes with 256MB of memory, the iPad 2 will embed 512MB of memory, just like the iPhone 4.
Cameras
The next generation iPad will sport two cameras, one on the front in order to allow iPad users to use FaceTime, as well as one on the back, to be able to take pictures with the device. The front camera is expected to offer a resolution of 640×480 megapixels, while the back camera should offer a resolution of about 1 megapixels.
Speaker
The iPad 2 will sport a new, larger and more powerful speaker, located on the the bottom left corner of the device.
