Apple iPad 2 is to have a 1.2GHz dual-core chipset, claims Concord Securities analyst

Citing unnamed sources is a favorite pastime for analysts young and old, but this here iPad 2 update by Ming-Chi Kuo from Concord Securities actually sounds plausible, so we thought we'd share.

The analyst suggests an ARM Cortex-A9 based chipset, with two cores clocked at 1.2GHz, instead of the usual 1GHz. Numerous 1GHz dual-core chipsets are coming to market in the next months, so no surprise that Apple is keeping up with the Joneses, and even clocking it slightly higher to futureproof the tablet until next year, when quad-core might be all the rage.

More interesting is the PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics subsystem he claims the iPad 2 will have, which coincides with previous rumors about the chipset. We won't speculate how many triangles per second will this dual-core graphics arrangement pump out, since we don't know if it will be produced by the 45nm process, like the current A4 chipset, or by the 40nm, or even 32nm, if Samsung is doing it, and it is ready with its 32nm fabrication lines.

Suffice it to say that Sony is using the quad-core PowerVR SGX543 variant in its upcoming PSP2 at the end of the year, and said it is as powerful as PS3. In any case this could very well be the new graphics king, we will see what Samsung has in store for us next month with its Orion chipset, which is using a different mobile graphics chip, though. Another performance boost the iPad 2 will receive from the increased clock frequency of the 512MB RAM, up to 1066 MHz.

The analyst expects an upgrade in the screen visual quality, but shoots down the rumors about a Retina Display ppi again. Apple already warmed up the developers that they might be looking into a more peculiar scaling for their apps on the iPad 2, not simply doubling up to 1536x2048, so something in the realms of 1200x1600 is more like it.

It is much more important that the new display is supposed to be a third thinner than the original, allowing for a svelter device, and a new anti-glare coating will be applied, improving the outdoor visibility. Apple has gotten a lot of flak over the iPad visibility outdoors, comparing it with transflective LCDs like those on the Notion Ink Adam tablet, so it is obviously wishing to improve on that front as well.

Here comes the not-so-cool part. Ming-Chi Kuo all but confirms in its note what we wrote last week - that the rear camera might indeed be 1MP, with a 0.3MP front-facing one, a page taken from the iPod touch. Not that you will be shooting around with a 10" tablet, but this will give an endless supply of fun for the blogosphere, considering most other high-end tablets are coming with 5MP shooters.

As we already reported, three versions are in the works - Wi-Fi only, one for the GSM, and one for the CDMA standards. Apple is not taking any chances with supply shortages this time. It plans to produce 4.5-5 million iPad 2s in the first quarter, so probably a simultaneous worldwide roll-out is in store.

If the Concord Securities note is correct, we already have a notion what might go in the next generation of the Apple iPhone - the dual-core chipset should be slightly underclocked than what we have in the iPad 2 to save battery, and we will have a raging graphics chipset, one which is sure to hold the fort until next year.

source: Electronista, B3D & MacRumors