Update: This was a false alarm: apparently the photos were taken with an iPhone 4, transferred to an iPad, and uploaded to Flickr using an app which changes the EXIF data to make that iPad show up as the original camera, instead of the iPhone.

These five-megapixel images were captured by an iPad, according to the EXIF data, and since current-generation iPad camera sensors don’t offer nearly that high of a resolution, it’s likely that we’re looking at the products of one of two rumored Apple tablets said to be coming this fall: the iPad 3 or the iPad HD. Besides taking 2592 x 1936 photos, this device also reports itself to be running iOS 5.0 — a version of the operating system not yet released to the public. Additionally, the pictures were taken in fairly close proximity to Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. While EXIF data can be faked, the nature of the account where these images were found suggests that the photographer is serious about his hobby.

According to This is my next, the iPad HD will be a member of the iPad 2 line, but will offer up a high-resolution display of 2048 x 1536 pixels. It would make sense for such a product to get a bumped up image sensor as well — the current iPad take notoriously unremarkable photos — probably the same one found in the iPhone 4. As for the iPad 3, it will probably need at least a five-megapixel camera to compete with the eight-megapixel ones popping up in the latest Android tablets. New iPads along with a new iPhone or iPhones are expected to be launched in the early fall.

Full-size images can be found here and here.