Tenuous rumor pegs iPad 3 CPU as a dual-core 2GHz part

Treat this one as pure speculation, because frankly, that's what it is. A "high-ranking official" at Samsung let slip that the company is "planning to release a 2GHz dual-core CPU-equipped smartphone by next year." This means that Samsung, one of the world's biggest chip manufacturers and a significant Apple supplier, will be pushing out a new, likely ARM-based, 2GHz dual-core processor in the near future.

The speculation is that, since Samsung manufactures Apple's A4 and A5 processors, which power the current crop of iDevices (regardless of present litigation), there's potential for a new Apple-branded processor -- the A6 if you like -- based on the 2GHz dual-core chip. The current Cortex-A9-based Apple A5 sports a dual-core 1GHz configuration, so frankly, a 2GHz variant isn't too much of a stretch, but who knows. The iPad 2 clips along at a lightning pace with its current A5; an iPad 3 sporting a dual-core 2GHz chip that has "the data processing capabilities of a regular PC, " is mighty enticing. Just don't mention battery life.

[via Yahoo! News]