Analyst says ‘iPad 2 Plus’ is on the way this year

The Apple iPad 2 will receive a slight redesign and be out before the end of the year, according to the latest rumors. The makeover will not include a complete refresh in hardware and could be named the ‘iPad 2 Plus’, according to Boy Genius Report.

The iPad is the most popular tablet PC the world over. One recent Digitimes report suggested Apple would ship 60 million iPads in 2012, while a Gartner estimate went even bigger with an estimated 68.6 million iPads shipped next year. With those sorts of numbers, Apple would be the top portable PC manufacturer in the world, when tablets are included.

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FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger said that the iPad 2 Plus will have a much higher resolution display than the iPad 2. Apple will supposedly increase the device’s pixel density from 132 pixels per inch to between 250 and 300 pixels per inch, which would bump the device up to 2,048 x 1,336 resolution versus the current 1,024 x 768 resolution.

The rumor of an iPad 2 Plus is a little hard to believe when looking at Apple’s history of product releases. Apple typically upgrades more than one element of hardware when it refreshes a line. All of its iPhone releases and the iPad 2 have included a combination of bumps in processors, screens, cameras, memory, and overall design. So it would be strange for the company to suddenly release a product with only a single spec bump.

What do you think of the iPad 2 Plus rumor?