iPad 3 Home Button Photos Surface On Internet (VIDEO)

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Images for the new home button on Apple’s highly anticipated iPad 3 have surfaced on the Internet this week.

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Tech site 9to5Mac recently posted an image of the new part, which is supposed to be for the iPad 3, side by side with the iPad home buttons for the original and second version. The site analyzed the new part and has come to a few conclusions based on it.

“At the surface, not much has changed, but the prospects of some minor structural tweaks do hint at something greater,” wrote 9to5Mac. It went on to explain how the new home button looks almost identical to the one on the iPad 2. The site also pointed out how the gray glyph representing the frame of the home screen application icon is slightly thicker.

The site concluded that the iPad 3 will come in both black and white just like the iPad 2. Also, the fact that these home buttons are already floating around indicates that the iPad 3 is either in production or close to the production stage.

There was also a recent rumor stating that the new iPad would drop the home button from its design, but with the part surfacing that is not likely. Another interesting aspect about the iPad 3 home button is that its internal structure is smaller than the iPad 2’s connector. Apple’s tweaking of its structural design could mean that the company is trying to leave room for something else.

The iPad 3 is rumored to be nearly 1 mm thicker than the previous model in order to accommodate a more pixel-dense Retina Display. A slightly smaller home button could help Apple to keep the extra thickness required to a minimum. The iPad 3 is rumored to be released at the end of February to early March 2012.