New iPad 2 Mockups Suggest Thinner Design, Speaker Grill, Cameras

Fresh pictures of what is claimed to be an accurate mockup of Apple’s second-generation iPad have been published by a Japanese blog today, and suggest that the iPad 2 will boast a significantly thinner design, as well as a front- and rear-facing cameras, and a speaker grill on the back.

The new design will not only be much thinner, but it will also sport a slightly different, less rounded shape than the existing iPad model. Here’s one of the photos courtesy of 9to5 Mac:

This quote from the Japanese blog, although poorly translated, explains that these mockups have come from Shenzhen:

Our monthly meeting of the parts procurement and manufacturing of original products repair, go to Shenzhen in the case or buying accessories. This city has a variety of products and components are distributed in the city say the head temple of PCs and mobile phones. In some cases manufacturing plant next to the city in December 2010 iPad(iPad 2) model (a simple reproduction of original size) seen.In some cases the factory since then have seen a product called iPad2 case.

While I’m all in favor of a thinner design and dual cameras, I’m not sure I’m keen on that boxier design. I love the curves of my first-generation iPad, and although I find it slightly heavy and much too thick, I’d still like to see its shape continue into a second generation. It’s understandable, however, that a curvier housing leaves less room towards the device’s edges for all that internal magic, and if its as thin as the mockups suggest, Apple won’t want to shave room off at the edges.

What do you think of these mockups? Will you be pleased if Apple’s iPad 2 looks like this? Let us know in the comments and scroll down for more pictures!

First-gen and second-gen side-by-side:

Front-facing camera:

Speaker grill:

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