iPad 3 Rumors: ‘Leaked’ Back Panel Image Suggests Larger Battery, Better Camera and Retina Display

As the date of launch for the iPad 3 comes close, rumors regarding the next gen iPad are flowing fast and furious. The latest addition in this list of rumors is a leaked photo, purportedly showing the back panel of Apple's third generation iPad, which has hinted at a larger battery and some design changes such as an improved processor, better display and more powerful camera.

The leaked iPad 3 back panel picture was posted on RepairLabs.com, which has compared the iPad 3 back panel with that of the iPad 2.

According to RepairLabs, a mere glimpse at the casing may not reveal much but a closer look at the back panel suggests at least four major changes that are to be expected in the iPad 3 (or whatever name Apple finally decides on for the iPad).

List of changes:

Change 1 - New Internal Hardware

The different logic board mounting indicates that the back panel has been redesigned to allow installation of new internal hardware. This would mean that Apple might install a new and better A6 processor ditching the current A5 processor-based logic board.

Change 2 - Larger Width of Logic Board

Larger width of the logic board of the new iPad compared to its predecessor suggests that the company is planning to pack a larger and longer-lasting battery.

Currently, iPad 2 comes with Li-Po 6930 mAh battery and Apple claims that battery can give up to 10 hours of talk time. According to earlier reports by DigiTimes, iPad 3 is expected to pack a battery as high as 14,000 mAH to support the anticipated HD screen and a more powerful processor.

Although Apple's battery manufacturers, Symplo Tech and Dynapack refused to comment on their client Apple or its devices, the leaked image of the iPad 3 back panel confirms battery upgrade.

Change 3 - Shape of Camera Lens

Apple has already launched a new camera in the iPhone 4S. Therefore, an updated version of the iPad 2 camera can be expected in the iPad 3. The leaked image of the back panel, however, shows minor changes in the housing of the camera, which gives momentum to the speculation of a better camera for the iPad 3. Although no speculations regarding the megapixels have come out yet.

Change 4 - Different LCD Mounting

The smaller and different mounting system of the logic board supports the speculation that Apple will redesign the display of its latest iPad. This time speculations are rife that Apple will introduce a revolutionary Retinal display that would feature double-resolution screen 2048×1536 pixels in dimension with modified IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology that will provide an improved pixel density of 330 ppi.

This would be a significant upgrade over iPad 2's display of 1024x768 pixels and a pixel density of 132 ppi.

However, RepairLabs noted that despite rumors of iPad 3 being slightly thicker than the iPad 2, they were unable to differentiate between the thicknesses of the existing iPad and the expected one.

While Apple has not made any official announcement about its launch date for the iPad 3, most experts are indicating an early March launch.

Click here to see the iPad 2 and iPad 3 back panel comparison done by RepairLabs.