Yes, right, I always go diving with my iPad.
Apple's next iPad mini will apparently be the first iPad with a water-resistant design, and the tablet is now expected to arrive by October.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported last year that Apple is working on an updated casing that offers protection comparable to the iPhone, making the iPad mini safe for casual use in wet environments like a bathroom or a pool area. No iPad currently carries an official water resistance rating, and Apple does not consider the existing models safe to get wet.
To achieve this, Apple has reportedly designed a vibration-based speaker system that removes the need for traditional speaker holes. Sound would instead emit from flat surfaces on the tablet's chassis, effectively turning parts of the body into a speaker diaphragm and eliminating one of the main routes through which water and dust enter a device.
The approach differs from the method Apple uses on the iPhone, which relies on adhesives and gaskets to seal speaker openings and other ingress points. It is not yet known what IP rating the iPad mini will carry. The iPhone is rated IP68 and can withstand submersion in water up to six meters deep for 30 minutes.
Apple has been building toward the technology for some time. A 2014 patent from the company describes a "mechanically actuated panel acoustic system" that vibrates flat panels to generate sound, negating the need for speaker grilles altogether.
A sealed design would also close one of the everyday gaps between the iPad mini and dedicated e-readers. Devices like the Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Libra Color are rated to survive immersion, and the ability to read in the bath or by the pool has long been one of the practical advantages they hold over Apple's smallest tablet.
Gurman recently said that Apple plans to release the new iPad mini by October. Korean outlet ETNews reported in June that Samsung Display had begun mass production of OLED panels for the device, lending weight to a launch in that window.
Water resistance is one of at least four major changes expected this year. The switch to OLED will make the mini the second iPad line to adopt the technology after the iPad Pro, delivering higher contrast, true blacks, and better power efficiency than the LCD screen in the iPad mini 7. A Korean source claimed earlier this month that the panel is an 8.4-inch LTPS design clocked at 60Hz, which would rule out ProMotion.
Apple is also reportedly planning a "major processor leap" for the tablet. Code accidentally published by Apple pointed to the A19 Pro chip used in the iPhone Air, while other evidence in a macOS kernel debug kit suggests the device will use the unreleased A20 Pro.
Apple last updated the iPad mini in October 2024 with the A17 Pro chip and Apple Intelligence support. The tablet now starts at $599 following the company's sweeping price increases in June, and Gurman previously suggested the OLED model could command up to $100 more, though that estimate predated the June rises.
Article Link: Apple's First Water-Resistant iPad to Launch Later This Year
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Apple's First Water-Resistant iPad to Launch Later This Year
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Apple_Jacks
macrumors member
Or, hear me out, stop giving your kids tablets 😂
I survived a handful of coffee, tea, water spills so far... but would be nice.
Apple should make a e-ink reader the size of an iPad.
ProTruckDriver
Contributor
I hope that this reported method will appear on the iPhone sooner rather than later - greater repairability is good (no glue).
I could easily see the Mini being the only iPad to get water resistance since it's the most phone-like in terms of portability. I don't know how big the market is, but the market for waterproofing for the larger Pros is probably significantly smaller. But to be real, many of the improvements to established devices like the iPad in recent years probably have small markets (the ones that appeal to the tech enthusiasts included). There's just not a lot of big market improvements left to make, at least none that are lower hanging fruit.
If the next iPad mini is waterproof that would imply that Apple is going to be marketing this iPad as something that can be used in many different environments. Reading by the pool with your new waterproof iPad mini jumps out as an obvious ad campaign.
But none of that matters if the screen is unusable in even moderate sunlight. Which is the case right now. And is the main reason I and most other people don’t use an iPad mini by the pool. Has nothing to do with water resistance. So hopefully they ALSO make the screen brighter when they switch to OLED or I don’t see the point in this feature.
Also if these advanced water proof speakers are worse than what we have now that will be depressing. Good speakers are way more important on a tablet than waterproofing.
But none of that matters if the screen is unusable in even moderate sunlight. Which is the case right now. And is the main reason I and most other people don’t use an iPad mini by the pool. Has nothing to do with water resistance. So hopefully they ALSO make the screen brighter when they switch to OLED or I don’t see the point in this feature.
Also if these advanced water proof speakers are worse than what we have now that will be depressing. Good speakers are way more important on a tablet than waterproofing.
TheGenerous
macrumors 65816
And even a few thousand years before that, without iPads at all. As time goes by, new tools are getting introduced with new features.
At least we agreed the problem exists and, until now, was solved by users buying a case (rarely waterproof, though), and allegedly by Apple at the factory in the next iteration.
actcyclist
macrumors 6502
This is so you can watch a movie whilst taking a bath and now you’ll be able to slip ahead or change volume.
Which part? Objectively both the suspected motivation and the price increase are possible. But unless there is convincing evidence (which is very difficult to provide for motivation), saying it's probable is just more cynicism. But there is convincing evidence that a price increase is probable, but that's because of the general price increases that we're seeing, so this is regardless of whether they add waterproofing or not.
Cynical response: Probably the same reason they use adhesives instead of screws to secure batteries to the MacBook chassis. Make it a bit more complicated to deter user repair
Apple markets the Mini as an actual tablet and it finds its way into all sorts of industries so it makes sense. Its just a shame its so expensive or more companies might actually buy them over the cheaper base model when bulk-purchasing IT hardware.
My niece is visiting and her dog knocked her iPad off a table into its water dish (of course). She found it the next morning and was in tears. We powered it down, dried it out over night, and everything including charging is working fine, but until that happened I would have bet that iPads were water resistant like the phones have been for ages.
Sosab123
macrumors regular
When I learned iPads weren't water proof I think I overheard it in the store. Until that point I also thought they were water proof as well but its something that takes a lot of people by surprise.
I'd love to see an M-series chip in the smallest iPad. Extended desktop on a mini would make it a go-anywhere, do-anything computer.
Then again, I really just want that is iOS on the go and plug in at home to run iPadOS apps and windowing on the external display, mouse, keyboard setup.
Then again, I really just want that is iOS on the go and plug in at home to run iPadOS apps and windowing on the external display, mouse, keyboard setup.
