Wesaw leaksbefore suggesting that afifth-generation iPad minimight look virutally indistigusihable from the current model and now a pair of reports published Tuesday have indicated that the upcoming device will be just a specifications bump.
Smartphone leaker Steve Hemmerstoff,writingon his Twitter accountOnLeaks, claims that he received an alleged CAD rendering of iPad mini 5 from one of his sources.
While Hemmerstoff did not share the photo at the time of this writing, he says it strongly suggests that the only major design tweak to the device will be a relocated microphone, centered on the upper back panel like on the $329 iPad.
Hemmerstoff said he couldn’t vouch for the veracity of the image, but the reliable Japanese blogMac Otakara has backed uphis report. The site was told by MFi accessory manufacturers in the know that the new iPad mini will look almost identical to the iPad mini 4 design.
Mac Otakarasaid the same thing a week ago.
The device is apparently 203.2 mm tall, 134.8 mm wide and has a thickness sof 6.1 mm. These are the exact same dimensions of the current model but even though your existing iPad mini 4 cases may easily fit the new model, the relocated microphone may render them useless.
The forthcoming tablet should retain the Lightning connector and the 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s said to run an Apple A10 chip, like the $329 budget iPad, versus the Apple A8 powering the current iPad mini 4. An edge-to-edge design like we saw on the 2018 iPad Pro series, along with Face ID, is not expected to be adopted across the mini line for the time being.
The jury is still out as to whether the device willsupport Apple Pencil.
Both reports seem to add an aura of credence to atrio of claimed photos, published in January, that picture an alleged enclosure for iPad mini 5 with potential design changes such as a relocated microphone hole, redesigned cellular antenna and no camera flash on the back.
According tosupply chain sourcesand reveredanalysts like Ming-Chi Kuo, the refreshed tablet will bearriving later in 2019, but it’s unclear if the devicemight start shipping in the springfollowingApple’s suppsoed March 25 eventorin the fall.
Either way,expect it to be a bit cheaperthan the current 128GB $399 Wi-Fi iPad mini 4.
I’m pretty sure many people who prefer the iPad mini form factor and price will be pissed if iPad mini 5 really turns out to be just a specs bump (just like iPad mini 4 was).
If you were Tim Cook, what would you do to make iPad mini great again?
