Apple on Wednesday announced the next version of its popular iPad tablet, which will be faster than its predecessor and have a higher resolution screen.

Apple on Wednesday announced the next version of its popular iPad tablet, which will be faster than its predecessor and have a higher resolution screen.

The new tablet will be able to display images at a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels, which is around 3.1 million pixels, the company said at an event in San Francisco. That should enable the device to play sharper video.

The newest iPad improves on the company's iPad 2, which became available last year and came with a 9.7-inch screen and a dual-core processor. The iPad 2 screen was able to display images at a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution.

The next iPad will also have software to make the device a personal hotspot. If a carrier supports it, the device can share a high-speed network with up to five devices.

The tablet will also have voice dictation technology. The company's most recent iPhone 4S smartphone also included natural dictation technology called Siri to make phone calls, get maps or organize meetings.