The fifth generation iPad from Apple has been in talks for quite a while. Now, as per reports, the highly anticipated new tablet from Apple is believed to make an appearance in March 2013.

Rumors for the fifth generation Apple iPad have been gathering a lot of momentum over the past few months. Recent reports have stated that the Apple-made device is expected to feature a Retina display and will be lighter than its predecessors.

As reports suggest, the probable timeframe for Apple’s believed to be 9.7-inch iPad release seems to be either March or April. This date, of course, contradicts the release of the previous fourth generation iPad, which brought some major specification bumps alongside a lightning connector.

"According to my inside source, iPad(5th) may be released in March, 2013. Source told that design of this new iPad will be like iPad mini in detail, and be thinner and lightweight. (The expectation comes to have a small 4mm in height, 17mm in width, and 2mm in depth)," a recent Macotakara report states.

If the device turns out to be of the same specificaitons, it will be as thin as the iPad mini.

Other details talk about the design of the device, which, unsurprisingly, takes a page out of design elements from the iPad mini. The iPad mini, previously, inherited the iPhone 5′s black/slate and white/silver designs.

Pocketnow states that the designing of the device “could be a logical move from Apple, after the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini, with the brushed edges and new-style backplate.”

As far as previous reports are concerned, it was stated last week that the new iPad would arrive with the highly expected Retina display with the Taiwan-based backlighting industry sources claiming that apart from a probable 2048 x 1536 resolution, the full-size iPad will be lighter.

It was also mentioned that the aforementioned changes in the iPad mini will also bring the PPI rating all the way to 324 for the smaller iteration of the iPad.