Over the weekend there have been a couple of interesting developments in iPad 3 prelaunch speculation. All rumors come from leaked images of particular internal components and parts. The first is a sighting of a prototype iPad 3 sporting an interesting processor marked “A5X”. We’re not sure if this means that the next iPad will definitely  have the “A5X” inside, or if it’s just a chip used in testing. However, most leaks like this turn out to be genuine, and in the finished product. (Think back to last year when the iPhone 4S was floating around with the A5 chip inside.) What this could mean, is that because it’s still a dual-core chip, Apple is holding back on the A6 branding until a quad-core product is launched.

Secondly, a Chinese blog is claiming that the next iPad has been spotted with the same 8MP lens found currently in the iPhone 4S. Apple Daily published the image below showing the difference in lens sizes between all three generations of iPad. If you look closely, you’ll also notice a slight difference in tapering between iPad 2 and iPad 3, suggesting that the next tablet will indeed be slightly thicker.

One interesting question is: does a tablet really need a camera that rivals a point-and-shoot, like the iPhone 4S’ does? If I get an iPad, it’s not because I want a camera. In fact, I’d be quite happy if it only had a front-facing shooter for video calls. It doesn’t seem very Cupertino-like. What do you think? Does it need an 8MP camera?

Via: Apple Daily, MacRumors, 9to5Mac