iPad 5 Release Date, Price, CPU Rumors: Apple Unveiling Set For October?

iPad 5 release date rumors seem to indicate that Apple’s iPad 5 unveiling will occur in October.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the iPhone 5S reviews seem to indicate the new iPhone lacks the expected Apple innovation.

Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and others are offering special deals and trade-ins for the iPhone 5S but some people might be happy with their current iPhone and are instead looking to the potential spark of innovation possible for the iPad 5. So let’s look at what Apple is likely to have in store for us.

iPad 5 CPU

The Apple iPhone 5S A7 CPU is the first 64 bit smartphone processor to implement the ARMv8 instruction set. As such, the iPad 5 CPU is expected to be the A7X designed by Samsung.

As such, the iPad 5 A7X CPU will likely be 64 bit as well and require the 64 bit version of iOS7, which will presumably be released for the iPad 5 since it’s already compatible with older iPads. The rumored iPad 5 CPU performance is estimated to be in the double range compared to the iPad 4, but no details have been released for certain.

iPad 5 Screen

One goal for the iPad 5 is to reduce the size and weight, so the iPad 5 screen size and shape will be a critical part of this plan. iPad 5 screen size rumors claim Apple will be reducing the size of the LED backlight by using more efficient LEDs. The weight of the new iPad 5 may also be lowered by using one LED light bar instead of the two used in the iPad 4 and 3.

Apple is likely to borrow the “GF DITO” (or GF2) touchscreen technology from the iPad mini to use in the iPad 5. GF2 in the iPad mini helped to make it 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than iPad 4, so it’s possible the iPad 5 weight will be reduced by this further.

The biggest iPad 5 screen rumor is the idea that Apple might make the shift to a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, which is used by most HDTVs and many movies. This would mean the iPad 5 would be slightly taller than before, although some say that would make the iPad 5 awkward in portrait mode.

iPad 5 Battery

All of the screen changes to the iPad 5 would consume less power and thus require a smaller iPad 5 battery. But otherwise Apple hasn’t released any specification about battery size.

Also, iPhone 5S battery rumors expected a better battery but as it turns out the iPhone 5S battery life is about the same as the iPhone 5. So unless the iPad 5 screen rumors are true don’t expect much improvement in this area.

iPad 5 Wireless Charging

One iPad 5 rumor claims Apple is looking into equipping its iPad Smart Covers with the ability to wirelessly charge the iPad 5. Rumors of iPad 5 wireless charging are fueled by an Apple patent which describes an “integrated inductive charging in protective cover” which works by “an inductive power transmitter arranged to wirelessly pass power to a corresponding inductive power receiver unit disposed within the tablet device.”

It’s uncertain whether iPad 5 wireless charging capability will require the iPad Smart Cover to be plugged into the wall to function or if it’ll have its own small battery, as well.

iPad 5 Color Cases

Leaks from the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 manufacturer show that iPad 5 color cases are in store for us. So far, the known available colors are similar to the iPhone 5S colors: gold, space gray, and silver. There hasn’t been any word on whether either the iPad 5 or iPad Mini 2 will be graced with more color options like the iPhone 5C.

iPad 5 Release Date

So far, Apple iPad 5 release date rumors are indicating an official launch date of October 15. There’s multiple reason to believe this is true. Apple has been resembling a leaky boat lately in regards to keeping their plans secret, which meant there really weren’t any major surprises with the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. The last iPhone 5S release date rumors managed to predict the dates exactly (earlier rumors from 2012 were far off, though). In addition, Apple did launch the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini last October, which means the iPad 5 release date is likely to follow suit.

iPad 5 Price

When Apple introduces a new product it’s usually priced to replace the previous generation. This was the case with the iPhone 5S, but Apple broke the mold by directly replacing the existing iPhone 5 with the iPhone 5C. Considering this history, the likely iPad 5 price is $499 for the WiFi only 16GB iPad 5, $599 for the 32GB iPad 5, $699 for the 64GB iPad 5, and $799 for the Cadillac 128GB iPad 5.

But other iPad 5 pricing rumors claim it’s possible Apple will drop the price by $100 in order to compete with Samsung and the Microsoft Surface, which managed to grab a 7.5 percent market share. This would make the iPad 5 much more attractive to those who might be lured away.

Do the Apple iPad5 rumors have you interested in upgrading to the new iPad?