iPad 4 128GB model appears in iOS 6 firmware "leak"

Right here at the start of the week we're seeing a new iteration of the iPad 4 (the first 9.7-inch iPad with a Lightning port) with a newly massive amount of internal storage. While the original largest amount of storage space you'd have been able to get in the iPad was 64GB, the newest version would be 128GB, more storage than you could possibly ever need in your Apple mobile device. The first whisper of this device was found deeply embedded in the heart of a Built Manifest of iOS 6 where only one man, iNeal, was able to find it.

The find was attached to a file that included several System Partitions with 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128GB on the list – gotta catch em all! This wouldn't be too much of an explosive find if it weren't in iOS 6 and inside OS X instead, but there it is – never before has there been an iOS-toting Apple machine with that much storage in its guts. According to 9to5mac, this version of the iPad may just be coming out in a variety of non-market releases.

In this case, that insight points toward an internal release for high-up Apple employees alone, government agencies, and other oddities. While such a massive amount of internal storage would be fantastic to have as the average consumer, the price point Apple would have to place it as would be too restrictive for sales to be worth production. The three storage size model tags out at the moment are "GOOD", "BETTER", and "BEST", this largest version is appearing as "ULTIMATE" – ultimately less than realistic for you and I.

Meanwhile we're getting pumped up for the iPad 5, whatever that'll end up being at it's reveal and release later this year. Rumors have only just begun to flow around the iPad 5 and its innards, with the release date being the first thing we're aiming to nail down – and it looks like Autumn at the moment. Have a peek at the timeline below for more iPad 4/5 action than you can handle and check the massive Apple hub through the future!

[via CNET]