Speculation surrounding the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C has been flooding the tech world, but Apple’s tablets are also due for a refresh. Here are the latest leaks and rumors for the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2:
iPad 5 – Front panel gets a close-up
Photos surfaced earlier this week that claim to show the iPad 5’s front panel, hinting at a redesign that is much more reminiscent of the current iPad Mini. The white panel sports a narrower bezel than the current iPad, giving it the same proportions as the iPad Mini, but supporting a 9.7-inch display panel.
The photos were posted by Sonny Dickson, an Australian blogger whose website claims that he is “the go-to source for Apple news thanks to his many sources and developer skills.” Although Dickson doesn’t indicate a source, the photos appear to be authentic. (He has since posted high-res photos of the iPad 5 rear shell in silver, as well).
Earlier this month, Geek.com posted photos of another alleged iPad 5 panel in black – which appears to be the same size as the one Dickson posted. It looks like consumers will be dealing with, essentially, a blown-up iPad Mini form factor – but when?
“If Apple sticks with a 12 month cycle then we will see the iPad 5 rolled out in November. However last year was a bit of an anomaly with the 3rd generation tablet arriving in March and the 4th generation launching in November. Could Apple wait and revert back to March launches?” asked Geek.com.
iPad Mini 2 – Rear shell photo shoot
Sonny Dickson strikes again – the same leaker who showed the iPad 5 front panel in white released a cache of 20 photos depicting a silver iPad Mini 2’s rear shell.
The iPad Mini is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the standard iPad, so one can assume that the iPad Mini 2 will be even thinner and lighter than the current model. But more importantly, consumers are hoping for a scaled-down Retina display to find its way into the iPad Mini 2. Unfortunately, the leaked photos don’t give any indication of what the upcoming slate’s guts will look like.
The leaked photo set seems to match similar leaked photos from French leaker Nowhereelse.fr. Earlier this month, that site posted lower resolution photos of both an iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 rear casing.
Release Date Hiccup
Bloomberg caused quite a stir when tech blogs noticed an alleged iPad release date buried in an unrelated story about a new Apple store coming to Tokyo’s upmarket Omotesando neighborhood. In that story, an anonymous source told Bloomberg reporters that the Cupertino tech giant “plans to introduce new versions of its phone and tablet” at an event scheduled for September 10.
The story has now been changed, saying that Apple is only planning to unveil a phone on that date.
“In response to the [initial] Bloomberg statement, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop negated the claims that Apple's new iPads would launch alongside the iPhone 5S. The blog entry posted Wednesday simply stated, ‘Nope. No iPads.’ Jim Dalrymple has been following Apple and its product launches for nearly two decades,” said iDigitalTimes.
Many tech analysts seem to agree that the next generation iPad and iPad Mini will be revealed at an event in mid-October, with both devices hitting the market in early November.
It will be a very busy pre-holiday season for Apple as the tech world holds its collective breath waiting to see what kind of innovations are in store. As Android continues to chip away at iOS global market share, expectations for something new and exciting are reaching fever pitch.