iPhone 5, iPad 3 Outed By Code Snippets In iOS 5.1 [The Next Two Big Devices For Apple Make Their Early Appearance Thanks To Code In iOS 5.1's Beta Release]

Posted on TFTS by Steve Anderson on Tuesday, 29. November 2011 under: Computers & Computing, Mobile/Cell Phones, PCs, Notebooks, Netbooks & Tablets

Clearly, since the iPhone 4S got launched, everybody’s been on pins and needles for the next big launches, the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5. And, considering the end run that iPhone 4S pulled around the naming conventions, many probably wondered if the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5 would actually be next, or if we’d get, say, the iPad 2S and the iPhone 4S 2. From the look of the recently released iOS 5.1 beta code, though, those concerns look unfounded.

Our own Chris Smith brought word of iOS 5.1 beta code that offered up an early look at a possible Sprint release for the iPad 2, but in the hours since, two other product references were found in the beta code, and these were related specifically to the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5.

The shot below details both product identifiers for the “iPhone5,1″ and the “iPad 3,3″. Considering that, in the past, Apple’s naming conventions have used “iPhone 1,1″ to describe the original iPhone and “iPhone 4,1″ to describe the iPhone 4S, it’s a pretty fair bet that these are set to be the names of the various products.

The iPhone 5 is rumored to offer up a slightly larger than normal display (four inches, if the word we’ve heard earlier is any indication), as well as somehow managing to be thinner and lighter than its predecessors. The iPad 3, meanwhile, is said to be the first such tablet to bring in a full on Retina display, as well as, possibly, Apple’s first use of an A6 processor, which would give it a serious edge in the market.

Needless to say, code snippets don’t always tell the whole story, and knowing Apple, anything at all could happen between now and the launch. But still, it’s looking like a pretty safe bet to say that 2012 will be the year of the iPad 3, and the iPhone 5.

So what do you guys think here? Figure it’s a safe bet that at least one new phone and one new tablet will land from Apple? Figure they’ll get the naming conventions back on track? Or do you think Apple will do something totally different? No matter what you think, we want to hear from you, and the comments section below is just the place to do it!