Rumor: Next-gen iPad and the iPad Mini with Retina display coming in March

Soon after the launch of the 4th generation iPad, rumors are now doing rounds that Apple might be gearing up to launch the next-gen iPad aka the iPad 5 in March 2013. The report which first appeared in a Japanese blog Macotakara suggests that the upcoming iPad will be thinner and lighter than the iPad 4 whereas it will also incorporate some of the design elements from the iPad Mini.The new iPad is expected to sport the same retina display as the third and fourth generations iPads.

Along with the next-gen iPad, Apple might also unveil the second iteration of it’s smaller, iPad Mini which now might sport a Retina display. This will surely bring a big grin on some faces, who wanted to buy the iPad Mini, but only held back due to the lower-resolution display.

If the rumors indeed turn out to be true, it would be a quite aggressive move by Apple to release the iPad 5 within just 5 months of releasing the iPad 4. But whatever the case turns out to be, it’s quite obvious that Apple is now feeling the heat from the tablets running Google’s Android OS.  Google’s own Nexus 7 has been a hot selling property and the relatively new Nexus 10 too, has gained immense popularity amongst the masses.

This news from Macotakara could be quite credible as the Japanese tech blog had previously been quite accurate in regard to it’s information surrounding the unreleased iPads. Macotakara has also been spot on previously in it’s information about Apple products production timeframes and other design information.

The same rumors about the next generation of the iPad and the iPad mini had previously appeared in a report by Digitimes, which claimed that the next iPad would be thinner and lighter, while the iPad Mini would get a Retina display in it’s second generation.