IPad Rumor of the Day: iPad 3 to Launch on Steve Jobs’ Birthday
According to Taiwanese news site Focus Taiwan and the Chinese-language site Economic Daily News, Apple is planning to launch the iPad 3 on Steve Jobs’ upcoming birthday anniversary, on Friday, February 24th.
This isn’t the first time that rumor has been circulated, but honestly, I wouldn’t put too much faith in it. The two sites say that the information comes from the not-so-reliable sources in contact with the Taiwanese supply chain, stating that factory employees are working around the clock and during the Lunar New Year in order to meet the advanced delivery deadline.
According to the article, the main assembler, Hon Hai Precision Industry, is only allowing employees in the iPad division a five day holiday, while staff at other locations will receive longer vacations. Casing producer Catcher Technology has also said that some employees will need to work overtime during the holiday as well, and other Apple suppliers are following suit and asking employees to work longer hours.
The same article mentions that the first shipment of the iPad 3 might exceed four million units, and makers in the supply chain are working hard to raise their yield rates. None of this is necessarily indicative of a February release. Apple always has trouble meeting demand when it launches products, so even gearing up for a late March release would have suppliers scrambling to meet production quotas.
It’s certainly possible that the iPad 3 could make an appearance on Jobs’ birthday, though unlikely based on other insider information. Historically, Apple has released products on February 24th, including the new MacBook Pros in 2011 and the Safari 4 beta in 2009.