

Digitimes reports that Apple is currently evaluating a pair of options for addressing issues with LED backlighting on the iPad 3, noting that the current backlight bar design used in the iPad 2 is insufficient for the higher-resolution display reportedly set to debut in the next-generation tablet.

One of the new LED light bar designs has proposed to keep the light bar in a single-bar form factor but with two LED chips inside; the other has suggested using dual-LED light bars, the sources indicated. Apple is likely to adopt the design using dual light bars, the sources asserted, adding that BLU makers have solved issues related heat dissipation and battery consumption for the dual light bar design.

Apple is unsurprisingly expected to introduce the iPad 3 early next year, with The Wall Street Journal being the highest-profile publication to confirm that timeline. A higher-resolution "Retina" display is the most widely-claimed enhancement scheduled for the device, although several reports have indicated that Apple's suppliers are struggling to produce the displays in volume.