Unreleased iPad Mini With Redesigned Cellular Antenna Appears in Photos

[sracer]

even the A10 processor would be totally uninteresting. Give us a Mini Pro with A12 and pencil 2 !!

That doesn't make sense to me.

For the general customer, the Pencil 2 will require an edge connector on the Mini 5 and with the Mini already thinner than the Pencil 2, it will be awkward to attach and transport.

Since you're talking about a "Pro", that includes pogo pins for a keyboard cover/folio. That doesn't seem too practical for a device so small.

For vertical market customers, it makes more sense for Apple to provide support for something like the Logitech Crayon.

 

[brendu]

even the A10 processor would be totally uninteresting. Give us a Mini Pro with A12 and pencil 2 !!

Ok. Don’t complain when it costs $699

 

[bigpoppamac31]

I’d very easily buy an iPad Mini Pro. Still hoping Apple will update the iPad mini to Pro status.

 

[Greenmeenie]

That doesn't make sense to me.

For the general customer, the Pencil 2 will require an edge connector on the Mini 5 and with the Mini already thinner than the Pencil 2, it will be awkward to attach and transport.

Since you're talking about a "Pro", that includes pogo pins for a keyboard cover/folio. That doesn't seem too practical for a device so small.

For vertical market customers, it makes more sense for Apple to provide support for something like the Logitech Crayon.

Apple continuing to make two apple pencils doesn’t make much sense either. I think the 1st gen pencil will be discontinued eventually. The question is...will apple give the new regular ipad possibly coming in March Apple pencil 2 support? Or will they wait until 2020? The ipad mini is a big mystery tho. Maybe they won’t even give the next mini ANY apple pencil support. Who knows? It would seem kinda late to give it gen one pencil support. But again, who knows.

Apple pencil 2 support would require a new flat edged design. And None of the recent leaks support this, at least for the mini. Haven’t seen any leaks for the rumored 10” regular ipad supposedly coming in March.
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I’d very easily buy an iPad Mini Pro. Still hoping Apple will update the iPad mini to Pro status.

Me too. Although it probably wouldnt get a mini smart keyboard...i could definitely picture a flat edged ipad mini with slimmer bezels...perhaps increasing screen size to 8.5” but staying the same size. And face ID, usb-c and apple pencil 2 support. I hope so...But that may all be wishful thinking.

 

[Hym tix]

For the general customer, the Pencil 2 will require an edge connector on the Mini 5 and with the Mini already thinner than the Pencil 2, it will be awkward to attach and transport.

hmm, iPad Pro 2018 is 5.9mm and works with Pencil 2. Current iPad Mini is 6.1mm. So what's the problem?

 

[Macintoshrumors]

A9? Man, that has really stuck around in the lineup. They are the successor to the A5, the chip that just would not seem to die.

Well, by now we all can determine the mini, at this point, is just a device that Apple is throwing their left over spare parts at and calling it a day.

 

[Val-kyrie]

If it comes with an A9 it better cost $250

It better cost less than $250 unless it comes stock with a 128GB SSD. I can buy an A8 Mini with 128GB SSD for $250 and the A9 is not that much better than an A8.

A9? A new tablet in 2019 with a processor in 2015?

Yeah, as much as I love the Mini, I won’t buy tech that old; hence why I passed on the BF deals for the Mini 4 this year.

 

[Macintoshrumors]

Apple continuing to make two apple pencils doesn’t make much sense either. I think the 1st gen pencil will be discontinued eventually. The question is...will apple give the new regular ipad possibly coming in March Apple pencil 2 support? Or will they wait until 2020? The ipad mini is a big mystery tho. Maybe they won’t even give the next mini ANY apple pencil support. Who knows? It would seem kinda late to give it gen one pencil support. But again, who knows.

Apple pencil 2 support would require a new flat edged design. And None of the recent leaks support this, at least for the mini. Haven’t seen any leaks for the rumored 10” regular ipad supposedly coming in March.
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Me too. Although it probably wouldnt get a mini smart keyboard...i could definitely picture a flat edged ipad mini with slimmer bezels...perhaps increasing screen size to 8.5” but staying the same size. And face ID, usb-c and apple pencil 2 support. I hope so...But that may all be wishful thinking.

I doubt the mini would be pencil comparable. Have you ever owned a mini? They are super small compared to what we have today. I have a mini 4 for scale. An Smart Keyboard I beyond not feasible for the mini. Don’t even go there. It will never happen.

 

[brendu]

It better cost less than $250 unless it comes stock with a 128GB SSD. I can buy an A8 Mini with 128GB SSD for $250 and the A9 is not that much better than an

The A9 is actually a good bit better than an A8. There is a reason people still use the 6s and aren’t upgrading iPhones. The A9 was the beginning of Apple just crushing it with their mobile CPUs.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I doubt the mini would be pencil comparable. Have you ever owned a mini? They are super small compared to what we have today. I have a mini 4 for scale. An Smart Keyboard I beyond not feasible for the mini. Don’t even go there. It will never happen.

Yes, i have owned several ipad minis. It’s one of my favorite form factors for the ipad. I am an artist, so i may be biased toward apple pencil support. The mini would make a great small digital sketchbook. But i could see it being used for taking notes as well. Wether Apple does this is another question. But the screen is certainly big enough for it.

A keyboard tho? Nope. Don’t see a physical keyboard for the ipad mini. I am with you on that.

 

[sracer]

hmm, iPad Pro 2018 is 5.9mm and works with Pencil 2. Current iPad Mini is 6.1mm. So what's the problem?

This is one of the reasons why Apple only makes folio cases available for the new Pros (the camera bump is the other) and doesn't make a smart cover option.

Apple can get away with the folio for the larger Pros because of the size of the device compared to the folio itself... and the different between Pencil 2 thickness and iPad Pro spread over the width of the Pro is tolerable. On a much narrower device like the Mini that difference will be obvious.

A folio case for the Mini that will have support for the Pencil 2 will add bulk to it that will not be appealing.

 

[Hym tix]

Ok. Don’t complain when it costs $699

Of course Apple has the right to raise prices if they think the market can bear it. I would think a Mini Pro could sell well at $499. $699 seems a bit too steep.

My point is (regardless of pricing) that Apple needs to do something innovative and push the limits of the tech, not just recycle old ideas.

 

[nordique]

despite the age of the A9, it is still a significant upgrade over the A8 in the mini 4 and a very capable chip today

It also is more powerful than many chips that are in "mini" sized tablets on the market currently

If it comes in at a cheaper price point that the current standard iPad, I will be very interested in this device

That said, highly, highly unlikely Apple will put in the A9 on the basis that they have newer chips and it would be unprecedented from them to put in a chip that old. Would make more sense if they put in the A10. The A9 was last in the 2017 iPad, and they no longer have any active A9 devices for sale in their own retail lineup. They do have the A8 in several devices that they still sell - iPod Touch 6th Gen, HomePod, Mini 4

 

[Val-kyrie]

The A9 is actually a good bit better than an A8. There is a reason people still use the 6s and aren’t upgrading iPhones. The A9 was the beginning of Apple just crushing it with their mobile CPUs.

I agree the A9 is better, but how much is an A9 worth over an A8 TODAY? $50? $100? $150? How much more than a Mini 4 would you be willing to pay for an A9-based device?

For me, the answer is not much. The shortened support will not make the purchase viable.

I would like to see a proper upgrade with an A11 and Pencil support, but I doubt Apple wants to make a Mini Pro.

Perhaps the better question is how much RAM Apple will include on the Mini 5....

 

[chinito77]

Nothing new here but I can see Tim saying that they worked hard putting this together and you can buy one for the new low price of $599.

 

[GoodWheaties]

Hopefully apple pencil 2 support as i already have one for my 11” ipad pro. I don’t want two pencils, and the first gen pencil is so awkward to charge. I really don’t see Apple making two different pencils for much longer.

Pencil 2 support is highly unlikely as there would be no way to charge it.

 

[Greenmeenie]

Pencil 2 support is highly unlikely as there would be no way to charge it.

True. Thats IF this leak is accurate. It could be an older update that never happened.

 

[rgarjr]

That design is too old school now.

 

[Yebubbleman]

An A9 would help in at least moving the iPad mini to PCIe based storage among some of the other features that the A9 introduced; though, it would still be enough behind the A12 of the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and the A12X of the 11" and third generation 12.9" iPad Pros (let alone the A10 and A10X of the sixth generation iPad and 10.5" iPad Pro) that it would be still struggling to be in any kind of parity with the rest of the iOS devices being sold. Then again, it's not like the sixth generation iPod touch, fourth generation AppleTV, and HomePod all don't currently have that problem.

 

[Westside guy]

Bend featured will be removed.

iPad mini 5 (wi-fi): $259
iPad mini 5 (wi-fi + cellular): $359
iPad mini 5 (wi-fi + cellular + bend resistance): $459

 

[ksec]

iPad mini 4 had laminated display which is gone in iPad 2018. I would much rather they sell it $50 more expensive than to give me an utter crap display.

The A9 wouldn't be a problem if Apple had plans / work with the Non-Apple GPU for longer. Both A9 and A10 are on TSMC 16nm and has a fairly large die size of 100mm2 to 125mm2. Not exactly small. While A11 is only 83mm2 on 10nm.

A9 Would be a near 4 years old SoC, will it still be supported going forward?
A10 had too large a of a die, they could rework it with 12nm and get better pref and die area. but moving to A11 seems a cheaper option.
They could move the whole iPad and iPad mini to A11 and rises the price by a little more.

Forgot to mention the iPad mini has higher PPI than the iPad 2018.

Hopefully with every component cost on the decline and even more so in 2019 we can expect pricing to improve.

 

[ktappe]

Photos of an unreleased iPad mini with hardware different than that of any previous generation of the tablet were shared on Twitter today by a person using the pseudonym Mr. White. The same user has shared many photos of what appear to be early prototypes of Apple products along with components in recent months.

The photos, spotted by 9to5Mac, depict a rose gold iPad mini with an antenna band that forms the shape of a rounded rectangle. The current iPad mini 4 has a similar antenna design, but the rounded rectangle is filled in with plastic to ensure proper transmission of signals from the wireless chip inside.

Apple later improved its antenna design and only required a narrow band for cellular connectivity on 2017 iPad Pro models. This suggests the iPad mini in the photos could be a new model in development.

Beyond that, the iPad mini in the photos looks identical to the iPad mini 4, with a headphone jack, side volume controls, Lightning connector, two speakers along the bottom, and so forth. The tablet also lacks a LED flash next to the rear camera, consistent with every previous iPad mini generation.

Last month, an alleged case for the so-called iPad mini 5 surfaced with a vertical cutout for the rear camera, suggesting the new model might have a rear camera, LED flash, and center microphone cutout. The case also had cutouts for four speakers, however, a feature that feels too premium for the lower-priced iPad mini. In other words, the case might not necessarily be for a future iPad mini.

Back in October, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to launch a new iPad mini, and the China Times reported that the tablet will launch in the first half of 2019. If true, the new model will likely be a modest upgrade to the iPad mini 4, perhaps with a faster processor and a few other minor improvements.

The iPad mini 4 was released in September 2015 and remains available for purchase for $399 and up in the United States.

The anonymous Mr. White shared photos of an alleged iPad mini 5 logic board back a few months ago along with a diagnostics report indicating that the tablet will have a TSMC-manufactured Apple A9 chip used in iPhone 6s models. The iPad mini 4 is powered by the Apple A8 chip found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

​

All this said, the iPad mini shown in photos today could be an older prototype that may or may not ever be released. Apple prototypes all sorts of different devices and configurations internally that don't always see the light of day.

If a new iPad mini is on the horizon, though, March has been a common release month for iPads in recent years.

Article Link: Unreleased iPad Mini With Redesigned Cellular Antenna Appears in Photos

[doublepost=1547010482][/doublepost]Huzzah! I recently "upgraded" from my Mini 4 to a 2018 9.7" iPad. It's no faster, and is harder to handle. I want my Mini back. If Apple finally releases a Mini 5, I'll buy straightaway.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I agree the A9 is better, but how much is an A9 worth over an A8 TODAY? $50? $100? $150? How much more than a Mini 4 would you be willing to pay for an A9-based device?

For me, the answer is not much. The shortened support will not make the purchase viable.

I would like to see a proper upgrade with an A11 and Pencil support, but I doubt Apple wants to make a Mini Pro.

Perhaps the better question is how much RAM Apple will include on the Mini 5....

A8 is nowhere near A9 performance. A8X is a much better comparison but, the A9 is still a better chip. I’m betting the mini 5 will have the A10 like the 2018 iPad.

 

[Bacillus]

Nothing new here but I can see Tim saying that they worked hard putting this together and you can buy one for the new low price of $599.

I guess this may be the “iPad Mini Memorial edition” with those round corners, the A9 and a non-working homebutton, that reminds Tim and Joni of the days that they were heralded.
At its presentation, Phil may even wear the same trousers (as if he ever changed)
I may be even crying - as sentiments will be getting high.
Anyway, Joni may have become overworked getting this design out of the archives - of course no time for a Mac Pro

 

[Solomani]

Dear Apple: