iPad 3 Back Housing

Side by side view of iPad 2 and iPad 3 back housings.

RepairLabs is exclusively able to confirm some changes in the iPad 3, thanks to industry insiders in China. Pictured above is the new iPad 3 back housing, juxtaposed with the current back of the iPad 2. You can see that there are several subtle differences, and together with our techs, we are able to tell you just what to expect when Apple announces the iPad 3. We looked at the pieces closely, and below you can find our conclusions on what the obvious differences might mean, and how close some of the speculation has been.

A. You can see here that the mounts for the logic board are very different, which means the logic board shape will be different allowing for . . . .

B. More battery. The width of where the logic board sits on the iPad 2 appears much larger than that of the iPad 3. We have long heard that the iPad 3 was going to provide longer battery life, and this back housing seems to support that.

C. The camera is different. It is hard to make a judgment just by looking at the casing, but what we can expect is a different camera on the iPad 3 than what we had on the 2.

D. LCD will be different than what we have had before. Whether or not it will be the super screen we have seen reported will have to wait. But the different mounting does mean that the LCD has been redesigned at the very least.

The LCD is probably what most of us are eagerly awaiting, especially with some of the reports of the upgraded part. However, our insiders tell us that so far the screen is not out there yet. That could mean that the finished product has not been signed off or that it is being kept top secret.

Our source also told us that the housing itself did not seem thicker on the iPad 3 than it does on the 2. There have been a lot of reports that said the iPad 3 would be a millimeter or two thicker than the 2, and according to our source, that could be false. It is a little bit hard to conclude without measuring both with screens in place, however.

Whatever the case may be, this back housing provides an interesting look into the changes we can expect when the iPad 3 is officially announced.

UPDATE:

Larger iPad 3 image is available.