I remember when I bought the iPad, my buddy (who works for Apple) said I should wait because an iPad 2 was undoubtedly coming out soon. But since I’m impatient, I bought it anyway thinking this was the greatest device since the iPhone. Sure enough, two months later, the iPad 2 was being announced. I decided I wasn’t going to upgrade, but then 1 month after the launch, I changed my mind again. This time, I sold my iPad and opted not to get any more iPads because I found that I just didn’t use it as much.

Anyway, the reason for telling you all this was because I remember hearing from my Apple friend when the iPad 2 launched that there would be another one on its way sometime in the fall (possibly September) and sure enough, here comes the iPad HD! I asked him why Apple would build up the iPad 2 so much and then release another iPad not even 6 months later? He said they wanted to drum up sales for the holiday season. That seemed logical, but it appears to not be entirely true.

iPad HD (iPad Plus)

Apple is making it clear that the iPad HD is not “the iPad 3”, but rather a complementary device to the iPad 2. This basically tells us that iPad HD will be nothing more than a souped-up version of the current device. This is good news to iPad 2 owners because now they won’t feel like they just dropped $500 on something that is now outdated.

The iPad HD is said to be increasing the screen resolution by double that of the current iPad 2, which is 2048×1536. There’s no word on whether it will receive any other spec increases, but this new device is supposed to cater to those involved in high-end photo and video production. To add to the toolset of those individuals, Apple is said to be releasing iPad-friendly versions of Final Cut Pro and Aperture.

There’s no word on any design changes either, but we can certainly expect that the price point for this device will be higher!

My two cents

It’s not surprising that Apple would pull a move like this. Although it’s nice to have choice from a company who usually doesn’t offer much choice, I can’t imagine that many iPad 2 owners would upgrade to this just because the screen resolution is doubled. However, there are those people out there that require the latest and greatest, so I’m sure there will be some sort of line at the local Apple store.