Rumors that the iPad 3 would be getting would be getting a retina display appear to have been confirmed today. MacRumors appears to have actually gotten their hands on an iPad 3 display. The new display is the same size as the iPad 2 – 9.7 inches – but packs in double the amount of pixels. While they could not actually power the display, the did put it under a microscope. Check out a comparison of the iPad 3 and iPad 2 displays below:

As you can see from the image, the pixel density on the iPad 3 is double that of the iPad 2, making it a 2048×1536 display.

Rumors of a retina display iPad have been floating around since the launch of the iPhone 4 in the summer of 2010. It was widely believed that iPad 2 would be getting the same technology. Though the iPad 2 did get a bump in screen resolution, it did not get a retina display. Consequently, most Apple watchers have been predicting a retina display for the iPad 3. Assuming that what MacRumors has is an actual iPad 3 display – and it certainly seems to be – it looks we’ll soon get to see what a retina display looks like on a 9.7-inch screen.

While the launch date for the iPad 3 has not been officially confirmed, reports surfaced on Tuesday that Apple was planning an event for March 7. Several reputable sources appeared to confirm these rumors.

[Source: MacRumors]