We all know what the hardware story is going to be for the iPad 3 (or at least, a very good approximation). But what's the software story? Too early for iOS6, and Apple always need a good software story to explain why there's quad core processors or why there's 4x the pixels.
Asked by joshuacalledme
I imagine it will be iOS 5.1 that ships with the next iPad. Or perhaps iOS 5.2, as it looks like iOS 5.1 is just about done. I agree that there will need to be some sort of software “story”, but it definitely won’t be iOS 6 (too soon).
If the next iPad does in fact feature a quad-core processor, the software story will probably be something like “all your software, but faster — devs should start optimizing for the four cores, but make sure the app works everywhere”.
As for the 4x pixels, I have to believe (though don’t know for sure) that Apple is already (or soon will be) working with select third-parties to release “Retina” iPad apps out of the gate. The software story there is: “your apps, 4x more beautiful”.
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