Katie Marsal
A new report out of the Far East claims that Apple's iPad mini 4 will see many of the same upgrades received by the iPad Air 2 last year, only compressed into a much smaller footprint. Meanwhile, a 2015 debut of the iPad Air 3 is said to remain a possibility.
The Japanese-language Macotakara said on Saturday that its industry sources are describing the iPad mini 4 as a shrunken version of the iPad Air 2, with plans calling for the adoption of many of the same specifications, notably a new 8MP iSight camera, A8-series processor, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
Additionally, the new iPad mini 4 is rumored to see its thickness shaved down from 7.5mm to match the iPad Air 2's thickness of 6.1mm. It's also likely to gain the Air 2's laminated display with antireflective coating, according to the report.
Separately, the report looks to hedge recent rumors that Apple may forgo an upgrade to the iPad Air this year in order to reduce pressure on manufacturers who will be tasked with pumping out both a 12.9" iPad Pro and all-new iPad mini 4.
Citing sources, it claims that the design footprint — including the length, width, depth and thickness — of the iPad Air 3 will remain unchanged from the iPad Air 2, thereby raising the likelihood that an A9-powered version of the tablet will make a simultaneous debut alongside the new iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro this fall.
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
78 Comments
The rumor mill sometimes misses new products when Apple doesn't redesign the case. For example, the new iPod Touch, and the up-spec'd iPad 4 were both surprises that didn't leak earlier.
Not a big deal if no iPad Airs this fall. It's massively over powered for what it's used for, and can't think of significant upgrades for that form factor. They should focus on the mini and the Pro. A price drop to $399 would be pretty awesome though.
iPad supply issues are tolerable, there's no reason to forgo an Air upgrade. As the A5 phases out we'll need more power.
The rumor mill sometimes misses new products when Apple doesn't redesign the case. For example, the new iPod Touch, and the up-spec'd iPad 4 were both surprises that didn't leak earlier.
Suddenly,
AppleInsider reported on the new iPod Touch in April:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/04/23/apples-dwindling-ipod-lineup-to-see-long-awaited-refresh-this-year
K
Mini, Air, 2, 3, 4.... I am kind of losing track of what is what, tbh (even though I own most of them!).