Pictures of what appear to be the front panel of Apple's next generation iPad recently hit the web. The pair of photos reveal what looks to be the inclusion of an integrated display - a feature that could reduce the thickness of the next iPad or perhaps allow Apple to cram in a larger battery.

MacRumors discussed the images with iFixit co-founder Kyle Wiens who said the assembly could very well be the real deal and that it may use the same manufacturing process that was used to create the screen for the MacBook Pro with Retina display.

While moving to an integrated panel would have its benefits, it'd also make repairs more difficult. Of course, Apple has never really been concerned with how easy an iDevice is to repair. Along the same lines, it could also be more expensive to fix a borked screen as one would need to replace the entire assembly versus just a single bad component.

In addition to the new screen (if legit), the next iPad is expected to include the Touch ID authentication system found on the iPhone 5s. It wouldn't be out of the question to see Apple also outfit the new iPad with their A8 processor and perhaps a few other surprises.

Apple released the current generation iPad Air on November 1, 2013 and if they stick to the same release schedule, we can expect to see the iPad Air 2 around that same time.