Taiwanese Apple-focused forum Apple.pro has leaked what appears to be an iPad 3 part, pictured below. The machine-translated description mentions a part labeled “821-1259-06” which looks a lot like a dock connector with the accompanying ribbon cable attached to it. The ribbon cable itself makes a 90-degree turn whereas it was straight on iPad 1 and 2. This in itself indicates some design changes of the next iPad’s internals. For comparison, the iPad 2’s dock connector is labeled “821-1180-A”, the site observes.
It’s interesting that “821-1259-06” is a white plug, unlike the black connector found on both black and white iPad 2 (the original iPad’s dock connector was white, however) . This has led the site to speculate that the next iPad might arrive in black and white flavors and with matching dock connectors. The component is said to be sourced from Apple’s “internal inventory” and leaked by an unnamed source.
Note that Apple.pro previously leaked genuine parts of Apple’s unreleased devices, such as a capacitive multitouch screen that was later revealed as belonging to a sixth-generation iPod nano. They also published iPhone drawings originating from a Foxconn manufacturing facility, but also raised false alarms with a purported parts depicting an iPod nano casing with a camera hole, although it’s possible Apple was at some point testing such design. In all, the site’s track record is pretty darn reliable nonetheless.
