New iPad tablets are seen in a window display in an Apple store in Sydney. Credit: Reuters/Tim Wimborne
“That seems to include a 2048x1536 resolution display, just like the new iPad. If accurate, that would put the pixel density at around 326 ppi, the same as the iPhone 4S (and higher than the 264 ppi new iPad) retina display,” Ritchie added.
According to the Telegraph, iMore has a good record of publishing Apple rumours that turn out to be accurate.
The move could also be a response to Amazon's Kindle Fire, a seven-inch tablet that sells in America for 199 dollars.
According to the paper, the suggested timing would also allow Apple to head off the impending competition from Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets, which are due to appear this year.