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Video Compares Second-Generation iPad Mini Shell to iPad 5, Current Mini

Here's what I think will happen:

Ipad mini refresh in COLORS, no retina, with a6 processor and 1gb ram, 16/32/64 launched at iPhone event. Price starting $299-329

Ipad 5 with new form factor, a7, 2gb ram, white/black/champagne 32/64/128 launched at late fall event (nov?), along with refreshed MacBook Pros, iMacs, and the new Mac Pro, + Mavericks official release. And one last thing: Apple TV 4 with apps, voice and maybe motion control (starting at 149-199 for 16gb), all just in time for the Christmas rush.

Ipad mini with retina display, a7 (scaled down for better battery life), 1gb white/black/champagne 32/64/128, starting at 329-399 (they will make us pay for that retina because they know how many people will have to have it!)
Launched spring 2014, izgo display, possibly minor form factor change.

Big question is what is going to happen to iPods. Their sales have dropped off dramatically. I suspect the iPhone 5c will render the touch almost redundant. They will scale back the price a bit as they move to discontinue. The classic will be discontinued. The iwatch will pick up the slack sometime in the spring or early summer, while the smaller iPods will be kept in place for the exercise and music playback enthusiasts and their big selling point will be streaming iTunes radio and continued standard iTunes functionality.
 
Radio said:
And who said apple can't innovate ?!

They cut off the sides!!!!

Next year they'll cut off a little bit off the top..

Then next year a bit off the bottom..
Click to expand...

They were going to introduce mind control, but anticipated complaints about the iPad taking them too seriously.
 
akm3 said:
If the Mini is retina, I buy the mini done deal.

if the Mini isn't retina, I don't know which I'll buy, it could be 50/50.

Therefore, it is in Apple's best interest not to put Retina in the Mini (Assuming people are making decisions like I am). No Retina mini means higher chance of more revenue.
Click to expand...

Couldnt agree more.
 
I'm still not sure about the thickness of the 5. In his first video he says its close to the 4 and now he tells us it's the same of the mini. From this angle and his dumb unprecise ruler you just can't see differences in mm. Wouldn't be so hard to find a caliper, I mean way easier than to find a iPad 5 rear shell :)
 
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musser said:
Gosh, all this incremental reporting about stuff that no one cares about is getting really tedious. I very much doubt that many of us really care about such nuances. When I think about the state of this world and how so many of us are struggling just to get by, I find all of this so odious and downright silly.
Click to expand...

Probably, but I dont think it would help anybody that Apple stopped making new products.
 
Apple: The next generation is smaller, yay!

Samsung: The next generation is bigger, yay!
 
I just REALLY want these to be part of this Sept 10 announcement, I want to buy one (or both?) of these bad boys real soon. My wife has the iPad2, and this could be the perfect time to refresh hers and get me the mini.

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Fairchild said:
Here's what I think will happen:

Ipad mini refresh in COLORS, no retina, with a6 processor and 1gb ram, 16/32/64 launched at iPhone event. Price starting $299-329

Ipad 5 with new form factor, a7, 2gb ram, white/black/champagne 32/64/128 launched at late fall event (nov?), along with refreshed MacBook Pros, iMacs, and the new Mac Pro, + Mavericks official release. And one last thing: Apple TV 4 with apps, voice and maybe motion control (starting at 149-199 for 16gb), all just in time for the Christmas rush.

Ipad mini with retina display, a7 (scaled down for better battery life), 1gb white/black/champagne 32/64/128, starting at 329-399 (they will make us pay for that retina because they know how many people will have to have it!)
Launched spring 2014, izgo display, possibly minor form factor change.

Big question is what is going to happen to iPods. Their sales have dropped off dramatically. I suspect the iPhone 5c will render the touch almost redundant. They will scale back the price a bit as they move to discontinue. The classic will be discontinued. The iwatch will pick up the slack sometime in the spring or early summer, while the smaller iPods will be kept in place for the exercise and music playback enthusiasts and their big selling point will be streaming iTunes radio and continued standard iTunes functionality.
Click to expand...

While some of these seems very likely, the mini in colors does not. If that were to happen with a Sept 10th annoucement, we would have seen leaked samples already.
 
D.T. said:
I'm 99% sure we won't see a new resolution introduced.
Click to expand...

WSJ clearly reported that it would have retina after there was a rumor that it wouldn't around the launch of Nexus 7. It was so obvious that Apple fed them the information to keep people from buying Nexus 7 and hold out for a Mini.

When the WSJ reports something like this related to Apple, it is Apple directly feeding them the info to report. I don't get why there is any speculation going on right now at all on this topic.
 
Patriot24 said:
WSJ clearly reported that it would have retina after there was a rumor that it wouldn't around the launch of Nexus 7. It was so obvious that Apple fed them the information to keep people from buying Nexus 7 and hold out for a Mini.

When the WSJ reports something like this related to Apple, it is Apple directly feeding them the info to report. I don't get why there is any speculation going on right now at all on this topic.
Click to expand...

Read my followup post:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17833488#post17833488

I was talking about a NEW resolution that Apple hasn't used to date vs. Apple's standard retina spec for tablets, 2048x1536 (i.e., any resolution increase we see, I'd say it's 99% likely 2048x1536 vs. some interim resolution to get ~260-ish PPI on a 7.5" tablet). I even speculated on how they might accomplish this (IGZO, die shrink A6X)

:)
 
I'm hoping a new iPad mini will feature retina in exactly the same form factor as the current model but there is every chance we will see two models and the case in the video may be from a non retina model.

If the mini does go retina though which I expect it will, I think it will be with the A6x & 1 GB Ram while the iPad 5 will remain the flagship model; more expensive and sporting the A7x.
This leaves price point - if there is only 1 model for the mini then I think prices will remain the same otherwise we will see the non retina at the current price and the mini retina half way between the base mini and base 5.
They may also just opt to have the non retina mini in a single 16GB capacity.

For me, the mini needs the follow updates in this order. if we get all three then it will be a fantastic device.

1. Upgraded RAM capacity. No modern IOS device should be running only 512Mb RAM. Just look at some some of the larger games or run with a couple of tabs in a browser to see the impact.

2. Retina screen. We assume the original mini didn't come with retina for a variety of reasons including technological and price given Apple wanted to see how well it sold. Now it is such a big seller and technology allows, it seems a no brainer to add this.

3. CPU upgrade. While the A5 is not the latest & greatest, the mini performs very well indeed from a processing perspective. Of course, any boost in CPU performance that isn't to the detriment of battery life will always be welcome.
 
D.T. said:
Read my followup post:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=17833488#post17833488

I was talking about a NEW resolution that Apple hasn't used to date vs. Apple's standard retina spec for tablets, 2048x1536 (i.e., any resolution increase we see, I'd say it's 99% likely 2048x1536 vs. some interim resolution to get ~260-ish PPI on a 7.5" tablet). I even speculated on how they might accomplish this (IGZO, die shrink A6X)

:)
Click to expand...

Ahh, my bad. I didn't see that follow-up.

In that case, I agree that we won't see a new resolution.
 
Patriot24 said:
Ahh, my bad. I didn't see that follow-up.

In that case, I agree that we won't see a new resolution.
Click to expand...

No worries, that was my fault, I tossed that in at the end, just because some "other" resolution has been discussed, made it sound like no retina vs no something-other-than-retina-but-more-than-current :D
 
Wow. A full size iPad with retina display and good battery life as thin as the current Mini? WOW! Here Apple take my money please!!
 
topper24hours said:
Ummm... yeah. The iPad 3rd gen was retina... the iPad 4th gen was retina.. There's rumors the mini is going to be retina.. but the 5th gen iPad is skinnier, but NON retina. Are you for serious, right now???????
Click to expand...

I sure am 'for serious'[sic]

iPad 2, non retina. iPad 3, retina.

Thicker and heavier, non?
 
sparky1499 said:
I sure am 'for serious'[sic]

iPad 2, non retina. iPad 3, retina.

Thicker and heavier, non?
Click to expand...

Sic implies misspelling.

You are being silly.

NO.

You are the ONLY person on the planet that thinks 5th gen iPad will LOSE retina display. That is laughable... as we will all see soon enough. Thanks for sharing your bizarre theory though.
 
Fairchild said:
Here's what I think will happen:

Ipad mini refresh in COLORS, no retina, with a6 processor and 1gb ram, 16/32/64 launched at iPhone event. Price starting $299-329

Ipad 5 with new form factor, a7, 2gb ram, white/black/champagne 32/64/128 launched at late fall event (nov?), along with refreshed MacBook Pros, iMacs, and the new Mac Pro, + Mavericks official release. And one last thing: Apple TV 4 with apps, voice and maybe motion control (starting at 149-199 for 16gb), all just in time for the Christmas rush.

Ipad mini with retina display, a7 (scaled down for better battery life), 1gb white/black/champagne 32/64/128, starting at 329-399 (they will make us pay for that retina because they know how many people will have to have it!)
Launched spring 2014, izgo display, possibly minor form factor change.
Click to expand...

Good post, some interesting and reasonable product roadmap theories :)

Based on who's been leaking the Mini Retina info, combined with what I think is a real need for a Mini update beyond just a SOC update, I'd say the possibility is more likely than not ... however, I hadn't considered a Mini with colors (does that also suggest plastic chassis?)

I think your pricing on the Mini Retina, if the base model is 32GB is low. I can't imagine a 32GB iPad, with retina, for anything less than $499 (as a newly introduced product).
 
VanillaCracker said:
So this video basically shows there won't be a retina :O

No change in dimensions. Isn't the iPad 4 thicker than iPad 3 because of the retina?
Click to expand...

iPad 3 is retina. Perhaps you mean the 2? And Yes it is thicker. But is the 4 thinner than the 3? I don't know as I don't own either of em. Actually I owned a three and returned it after a few days as my 2 was still good enough.

Can't wait for the 5!

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sparky1499 said:
I sure am 'for serious'[sic]

iPad 2, non retina. iPad 3, retina.

Thicker and heavier, non?
Click to expand...

Saying the ipad 5 won't be retina is so ludicrous you gotta be trolling! Let's bet... Whatever you own, I'll bet you for it!
 
topper24hours said:
Sic implies misspelling.

You are being silly.

NO.

You are the ONLY person on the planet that thinks 5th gen iPad will LOSE retina display. That is laughable... as we will all see soon enough. Thanks for sharing your bizarre theory though.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're a nice person in real life...

----------
topper24hours said:
You are the ONLY person on the planet that thinks 5th gen iPad will LOSE retina display.
Click to expand...

When did I imply that?

Please explain.
 
sparky1499 said:
I'm sure you're a nice person in real life...

----------



When did I imply that?

Please explain.
Click to expand...

I am. I am on the internet as well.

Look at the comment before mine. EVERYBODY knows you are trolling or are genuinely ignorant. Coming on a forum where we are all fairly clued in on Apple products & saying something as ridiculous as you did... about iPad 5th gen ditching retina display is welcoming being flamed. You are wrong. Admit it, or just go away.
 
I think you'll find, my learned friend, that the implication I made was that the next mini is potentially not going to have a retina display as the thickness has not increased, much like the ipad 2 to ipad 3 difference.

Please do not call me a troll. I am not a troll.

Also FYI... The Latin adverb sic ("thus"; in full: sic erat scriptum, "thus was it written")[1] added immediately after a quoted word or phrase (or a longer piece of text), indicates that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, complete with any erroneous spelling or other nonstandard presentation.
 
To be fair to Sparky, there is currently two full sized iPads, one with retina and one without. A new casing that is thinner than the current retina may still indicate a full sized iPad that is non retina; Apple may be updating the casing but still planning on running with both screen resolutions to allow the lower spec model to be a cheaper entry level model.
We simply don't know until Apple unveils their plans. I personally don't think this will happen but no one here is in a position to say there definitely won't be a new non retina full sized model at this time.
 
Will the price of $329 for a base iPad Mini model still remain the same? I would love to get my hands on an iPad Mini 2 with a Retina Display and an A6X processor. That would be a money saver if I were to sell my iPad 4 tbh.
 
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