With tablets sale declining and the iPads being the worse hit, all eyes are set on the upcoming iPads from Apple to help give the tablet market a much needed boost. Last year, the company unveiled the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3, which failed to capture consumer’s interest.
That was despite the iPad Air 2 coming with some impressive specs inside a 6.1mm thin shell. The iPad mini 3, on the other hand, was an utter disappointment and retained the same specs as its predecessor and had only one major feature: Touch ID.
If rumors are anything to by though, Apple is all set to give the iPad mini a major revamp and even unveil a larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a stylus, which has been rumored for the last couple of years now.
So, what exactly do we know about these new tablets from Apple? Check out the rumor round up below to know all about them.
iPad mini 4
Take the iPad Air 2 and shrink it down to the size of the iPad mini, and voila! you have the iPad mini 4. Multiple reports and leaks have now claimed that the iPad mini 4 will feature a design language that will be similar to the iPad Air 2. The tablet will feature a shell that will be as thin (6.1mm) as the iPad Air 2, with the display being laminated to the glass for higher brightness and lower reflectivity.
Not much is known about the internals that will be found inside the iPad mini 4, but if a leak from March of this year is anything to by, Apple will end up using its A8 chipset inside its upcoming mini, rather than A9 that will power the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The 7.9-inch tablet will also gain support for faster Wi-Fi ac networks, though it remains unclear if it will ship with 2GB RAM or not. However, since the iPad mini 4 is confirmed to support the split view multitasking feature of iOS 9, which is only supported on the iPad Air 2, it is likely that Apple will end up shipping the tablet with 2GB RAM as well.
Interestingly, a rumor had popped up back in July stating that the iPad mini 4 is going to be the last mini tablet from Apple. With the tablet market slowing down and Apple likely launching a bigger iPad Pro, it is possible that the company will increase the product cycle of the iPad instead of abandoning it.
iPad Pro
Apple has been rumored to be working on a 12.9-inch iPad Pro for a couple of years now, but the public launch of the device was delayed due to supply issues. This year though, it looks like Apple is all set to release the tablet to consumers, at least if all those leaked reports popping up throughout this year are to be believed.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro was initially rumored to launch at Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ event held in March early this year, but supply issues with the display panel forced the company to postpone the launch to later this year.
If the code found in iOS 9 is anything to go by, the 12.9-inch display on the iPad Pro will sport a resolution of 2732 x 2048. This was further corroborated by the data collected by an analytics firm in August. The tablet will also feature four stereo speakers to provide a better immersive experience while watching movies or presentations.
A new hidden keyboard with a dedicated number row in iOS 9 also confirms the existence of the iPad Pro and its impending launch later this year.
Apple has also been rumored to use a new nanowire based touchscreen on the iPad Pro, as it will allow the display to be thinner and further decrease its response time. It will also play well with the Force Touch capable stylus that Apple will be launching with the tablet.
The iPad Pro will borrow iPad Air 2’s design including its ultra thin chassis and narrow side bezels. iPad Pro may be as thin as 7mm, which would make it thinner than the 7.1 mm iPhone 6 Plus, and slightly thicker than the 6.1 mm iPad Air 2 and 6.9 mm iPhone 6. The video below gives a good idea how the bigger iPad Pro will compare with the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 and 7.9-inch iPad mini.
The internals of the iPad Pro remain unknown, but it is likely that Apple will end up using a slightly more powerful variant of its A9 chip inside the tablet. It will also be paired with 2GB RAM to better take advantage of the new split view multitasking feature being introduced in iOS 9. Reports have claimed that the tablet will ship with a lightning port, as well as a USB Type-C port.
It may also include NFC, which would mean that it will support Apple Pay for mobile payments.
It is still unclear if Apple will indeed unveil the iPad Pro at its September 9 event next week or not. Multiple reports have claimed that the tablet will be not ship in September, though it will be unveiled at Apple’s September 9 event itself.
The tablet will likely ship in November with iOS 9.1 pre-installed. Reports also claims that Apple is working on a Bluetooth keyboard for the tablet, though other details about it are not known as of now.
What are your expectations from the iPad mini 4 and the iPad Pro? Will you be buying one of them?
