Apple's Media Event Predicted to See Retina iPad Mini and Thinner iPad, but No Touch ID or Gold Option

[v0lume4]

So, we all expect the iPad mini to have an A7 chip. Or according to recent reports that's what we'd expect. But realistically, for the price tag, would Apple really include the A7 in the mini 2, or just the A6? I certainly hope for the former, because a mini with retina AND an A7 is an absolute steal, hands down.

 

[lolkthxbai]

Touch ID is one of the greatest implementations ever. iPad 5 needs to have it.

I think they would have if it 1) made sense and 2) had enough supply

 

[yodaxl7]

my prediction:

iPad 5: A7x chip, 2gb Ram, touch ID, new form factor (maybe 256gb storage)

iPad Mini 1: stays in market but only with 16,32 gb storages (199, 299)
iPad Mini 2: A7, 1 gb ram, touch ID, retina, storage32, 64 and 128gb (429, 529, 629)

 

[JCCL]

I think apple still wants to hold the iPad mini as a lower performance model than the bigger brother. Which means that, in the best case scenario, the new iPad mini will have an A6X processor if it has a retina display, A6 if it doesn't. The iPad 5, on the other hand, should be having an A7X processor, enough to bring iPhone 5S kind of performance on the iPad with much more pixels. I think it is very likely the iPad 5 will have touch id, however the smaller cutout could also accommodate an smaller home button similar to the iPhone 5.

 

[576316]

If the MacBoom Pro Retina is getting 120hours of battery life or more, I'm in for it. Anyone with me?

I seriously doubt it. The form factor would have to change, you'd be looking at a thicker MacBook Pro. ;-)

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Image

Haha, this. I don't know how people can have expectations of so much battery life yet still want the gorgeously thin design of the MacBook Pro.

 

[Giuly]

Product: iPad
Forcast for the new product: To be equipped with wings.
Rationale: Display glass defects due to them flying off the shelves not covered by Apple Care.

 

[576316]

I don't think I'm too bothered about the iPad mini 2 not having a gold option or TouchID. I think the fact it'll have Retina and be more powerful is an upgrade enough. I've had the white one since December so I think I'll go for a black one this time anyway.

 

[Jsameds]

Touch ID to do what? Unlock and remember password for App Store?
I'm fine with remembering my passwords which we have all been doing for years

I'm ecstatic about mini with retina. Question is, which processor? That will then determine which one I'd get

It's not about having to remember them, it's about saving you the bother of typing them in. How many times do you unlock your iDevices every day? For me it's 30-40x (sounds a lot but if you count it soon adds up), combined with passwords for app purchasing etc it can save a lot of time and effort.

People said the same about Siri, but now it only takes me 5-10 seconds to google something, send a message, set a timer as opposed to 30 seconds previously.

It all adds up.

 

[Kolmogorov]

So, we all expect the iPad mini to have an A7 chip. Or according to recent reports that's what we'd expect. But realistically, for the price tag, would Apple really include the A7 in the mini 2, or just the A6? I certainly hope for the former, because a mini with retina AND an A7 is an absolute steal, hands down.

But apple may raise the price of mini 2 to $399, after both A7 and retina added.

 

[576316]

my prediction:

iPad 5: A7x chip, 2gb Ram, touch ID (maybe 256gb storage)

iPad Mini 1: stays in market but only with 16,32 gb storages (199, 299)
iPad Mini 2: A7, 1 gb ram, touch ID, retina, storage32, 64 and 128gb (429, 529, 629)

No, I'm hoping the iPad mini stays at the same price. If they make it any more expensive they'll push it further out of the market it was meant to take over. I don't want to pay more than £300 for an iPad mini.

 

[Glassman]

iPad Mini 2 will get Retina since everybody and their brother is doing it in similar form factor and at a lower pricepoints. To support Retina, it needs an -X processor with doubled memory bandwidth, so it's more than likely it's inheriting A6X from the iPad 4 of yesteryear. The reason original iPad Mini used A5 like an iPhone and not A5X like the iPad 3 is because the low resolution, just like iPad 2 did not need an A5X. Just like original iPad Mini being a shrink down of iPad 2 it will be essentially identical hardware wise as iPad 4 just in a smaller package, so no need to test against a new configuration.

iPad Mini 2 is not getting Touch ID due to cost as well as it's use of A6X which does not have the supporting circuitry. iPad 5 is getting it though, being the flagship, having A7X and not so tight bill of material.

Touch ID would be brilliant to enable multi-user support on iPad - where it actually makes sense as opposed to a phone, should Apple opt to go down this path. That would be a good enough reason to buy an iPad instead of a couple cheaper tablets for family, therefore get sales which would otherwise go to competition.

 

[clunkmess]

This is really disappointing news. Still buying!

 

[jonyive4]

Touch ID to do what? Unlock and remember password for App Store?
I'm fine with remembering my passwords which we have all been doing for years

Hopefully the technically gets expanded to third party apps. You might say "wow, huge security risk that is", well it's already a huge security risk using something like Lastpass to copy and paste passwords into third party app sign ons. Any app can monitor clipboard activity in the background for an unspecified amount of time and steal your copied password.

 

[boss1]

..." claiming that "probably" neither a Touch ID fingerprint sensor nor a gold color option will be available in either line. He believes that production of components related to those features are still being prioritized for the iPhone 5s, which remains in very tight supply, and thus will not yet be able to make their way into the iPad lineup."

...and since when has tight supply constraints prevented Apple from announcing "and the new @@@@ will be available for pre-order starting today!" ?

This is a painful reality for me to face ... I sold my iPad yesterday ... and I will remain iPadless until my back order arrives.

 

[a0me]

If the MacBoom Pro Retina is getting 120hours of battery life or more, I'm in for it. Anyone with me?

 

[Justan00b]

Touch ID to do what? Unlock and remember password for App Store?
I'm fine with remembering my passwords which we have all been doing for years

I'm ecstatic about mini with retina. Question is, which processor? That will then determine which one I'd get

You've OBVIOUSLY never used TouchID, lol.
I sit patiently with my thumb on the home button of my iPad mini, waiting for it to unlock. Lol, my 5S has me trained already!! It rocks. I love it.

 

[Mackan]

Why put it in now when they can use it as a marketing ploy for next year's iPads?

Apple's now like the auto industry: Out of ideas. Why release driver & passenger side airbags the same model year when you can stagger them out over two?

Sounds exactly what Apple will do.

 

[Smigit]

I'm sure Touch ID will do so much more with future updates besides unlocking and purchases. This is only the beginning. And I think it's a very convenient thing to have.

I think at some point it'll integrate with the Key Chain functionality that they pulled late from iOS 7.

I also think Touch ID will be there. I can't imagine them not retaining parity in terms of functionality, especially when they've already put a lot of effort into selling it as a feature for the iPhone. Ultimately iPads are still mobile devices that have a lot of personal and sensitive information on them (possibly more than some phones given many do actual work on them), so Touch ID makes as much sense on the iPad as it does a phone IMHO.

 

[kmccown]

The new iPads will have Touch ID. After Siri was introduced on the iPhone 4S, several analysts made a similar claim about it not being on the next generation iPad(s), which their "predictions" turned out to be incorrect.

 

[boss1]

Touch ID to do what? Unlock and remember password for App Store?
I'm fine with remembering my passwords which we have all been doing for years

I'm ecstatic about mini with retina. Question is, which processor? That will then determine which one I'd get

TouchID would be just, if not, more useful on my iPad than my iPhone. At least my phone never leaves my pocket or my hands unattended... because it's small & pocket-able.
iPad sometimes gets left on the desk or gets left slightly unattended when I walk into places where carrying an iPad looks odd ... like inside the restroom or the inside the store etc.

 

[mrmarts]

Big deal if does not have touch id, I do not see what all the hype is about a button that does not improve the performance, and cannot be accessed by third party apps. The new design, slimmer basel, and A7 processor has won me over.

 

[KingBenneth]

I had to register to ask you guys, what do you think of this image?

http://www.ctechcn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/226-640x371.jpg

Let me introduce myself. I'm brand new to the Apple scene and the iPad 5th Gen. will be my first iPad - I'm so excited! I've been following a few websites for leaks and information, 9to5Mac, Cult of Mac, Apple Insider and of course Mac Rumors. I've also been scouring twitter to find any information I can find. Ctechcn have popped up a few times. They've even got gold case leaks, so how credible does this image look to you guys? Doesn't the iPad 5th Gen. seem to have Touch ID integrated into it? Am I reading into the image too much?

Sorry for the long post! Hopefully someone can shed some light onto it?

 

[macs4nw]

But apple may raise the price of mini 2 to $399, after both A7 and retina added.

A small increase to say $349 or $369 for the entry model is a possibility, and Apple could justify that and probably get away with it, without a drop in sales, given the level of anticipation for this new Mini.

Kuo has been fairly accurate with his claims over the past several years, earning him significant attention from the rumor community. He has, however, had some misses, as seen with his prediction that the Retina MacBook Pro...

I thought Kuo was a girl?

A quick search did not reveal, if you are right. I've always thought him to be of the male persuasion, but that's just probably because he's always referred to as 'he' and 'his' on tech blogs; never seen a picture of him. Perhaps a LinkedIn search might reveal the answer to that question mark.

 

[Justan00b]

iPad Mini 2 will get Retina since everybody and their brother is doing it in similar form factor and at a lower pricepoints. To support Retina, it needs an -X processor with doubled memory bandwidth, so it's more than likely it's inheriting A6X from the iPad 4 of yesteryear. The reason original iPad Mini used A5 like an iPhone and not A5X like the iPad 3 is because the low resolution, just like iPad 2 did not need an A5X. Just like original iPad Mini being a shrink down of iPad 2 it will be essentially identical hardware wise as iPad 4 just in a smaller package, so no need to test against a new configuration.

iPad Mini 2 is not getting Touch ID due to cost as well as it's use of A6X which does not have the supporting circuitry. iPad 5 is getting it though, being the flagship, having A7X and not so tight bill of material.

Touch ID would be brilliant to enable multi-user support on iPad - where it actually makes sense as opposed to a phone, should Apple opt to go down this path. That would be a good enough reason to buy an iPad instead of a couple cheaper tablets for family, therefore get sales which would otherwise go to competition.

I'm stoked about mini w/ Retina.... but to be clear- NOBODY is " doing it in similar form factor and at a lower pricepoints"... this analyst must've been drunk or lacks basic math skills. Nexus 7- 1280x800 = 1,024,000 pixels. Mini- 2048x1536 = 3,145,728 pixels.
In what world are these "on par"... that is less than 1/3 of the mini's display specs. If Apple sold a mini at over 3 times the cost we wouldn't say the costs were "on par" with competition.... What gives??

 

[Freyqq]

he didnt even want to touch the iGPU vs dPGU argument on the 15" rmbp lol. I don't blame him, it really could go either way =\