Report Reveals Tweaks Behind iPad 2’s Thinner Design

Apple’s weight-loss regimen for the iPad 2 included redesigning the battery structure, adopting some new technologies, and eliminating one key part.

That’s according to a 16 March report from analysis firm IHS iSuppli, which conducted one of its high-profile teardowns of the next-generation tablet. According to that report, the slimming-down of the iPad 2’s battery assembly was a key reason for the tablet’s newfound slimness.

Battery design shift

“The iPad 2 battery design represents a major shift from the iPad 1,” Kevin Keller, principal analyst for the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service, wrote in a 16 March statement. “Apple moved from two thicker cells to three thinner ones, flattening out the entire battery structure.” The redesign increased the tablet’s battery density, in turn helping the iPad 2 deliver some 10 hours of battery life.

Also, Keller added, “the new design also allowed Apple to eliminate an injection-molded plastic support frame from the battery subsystem, further cutting down its thickness.” Apple shaved down a bit of area between the display and the top of the battery assembly.

In order to work the iPad 2 down to 8.8 millimetres in thickness – a 34 percent reduction from the original iPad’s 13.4-millimetres – Apple also eliminated a stamped sheet metal frame, and adopted “new glass technology” that allowed it to reduce the thickness of the touch-screen overlay while maintaining a sufficient degree of toughness.

“Apple has particularly focused on thickness as a point of differentiation for the iPad 2,” Keller wrote. “Other new tablets coming to market, all of which are about as thick as the iPad 1, now look fat in comparison to the iPad 2. This is likely to cause a scramble as competitors rush to slim down to match Apple.”

Sales estimated at more than 500,000

While Apple has not yet released official sales figures for the iPad 2’s first weekend of release, a selected number of analysts feel the company sold between 500,000 and 600,000 of the tablets. In an 8 March research note, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted that the iPad 2 will sell 1 million units faster than its first-generation predecessor, which took 28 days to reach that mark – thanks in part, he added, to the device’s availability in a broader collection of retail stores.

On 14 March, the iPad 2’s first day of wide release in the US, eWEEK toured three Apple stores in Manhattan and found similarly long queues at each. Across the country, Apple’s retail partners – including Best Buy, Walmart, Target, AT&T and Verizon – reported shortages and outright sellouts of the tablet.