WSJ: Thinner iPad and Retina iPad Mini Expected on Tuesday

[aaronvan]

A iPad mini with retina, huh? I sure hope so but unless there has been a breakthrough in battery life, this may be a stretch. I don't see Apple shipping a device with ~2.5 hours battery life.

Maybe a b & w retina display?

 

[ActionableMango]

Go home WSJ, You're drunk. Kuo predicted it 9 months ago.

While the Internet rushes to be first instead of correct, it's nice that old dying media still waits to be correct.

Is your body ready for Apple on Tuesday!

Yes, but not my wallet.

Apple is not going to make an iPad Mini with more DPI than the iPad.

That's for sure. Sorry to disappoint you guys

That would be quite the disappointment. I'm going to go with the near-consensus though and believe the Mini 2 will be retina. Apple would be excoriated if they released another 1024x768 Mini.

ipad mini retina blah blah bla, a wanna something compare to surface pro ipad with ful osx running not toys !

Someday yes, but right now OS X would be terrible with touchscreen. So you'd need a keyboard and trackpad or mouse. Then you basically have a MacBook Air.

A iPad mini with retina, huh? I sure hope so but unless there has been a breakthrough in battery life, this may be a stretch. I don't see Apple shipping a device with ~2.5 hours battery life.

The IGZO screen is the breakthrough. Way less power consumption. Also, the leaked cases have shown the Mini 2 will be thicker... bigger battery?

 

[dantracht]

Not falling for the "twice as fast" stuff this time around. The 5S is not twice as fast as the 5, not in my daily use anyway, and I'm not a game user at all. My iPad 4 with smart case will do just fine for the time being. It's not too large or heavy for me.

That's just me, for once I'm going to try restraint and not rush to get the latest and greatest.

 

[sshhoott]

I'm pretty sure they already got rid of the round power button where that would most easily be implemented. But yeah maybe they can fit it in that tiny little thin f row key too.

Yeah, but it needs to be round (like the finger print). So if they decide to put it in the f key row, it has to look kind of symmetrical. Maybe we can see a comeback of the classical power button which would house the Touch ID in the redesigned Macbook Air next year.

 

[Sodner]

I actually don't really need the added security of Touch ID on an iPad that I primarily use at home but after a month with the 5s I am already trained to unlock my devices with it and I consistently stare at my iPad mini's "Slide to Unlock" screen as I hold my finger on the home button wondering why its not unlocking.

Come on Apple put Touch ID on the iPad 5!

 

[karlwig]

The Retina iPad Mini is welcome (and overdue, IMO) yet while I can appreciate a lighter/thinner form factor in the larger iPad, those thin side bezels are going to make holding it in portrait mode a PITA.

True, but I for one am looking forward to a lighter device at least. The iPad 3/4 is way too heavy.

 

[DVK916]

Apple is not going to make an iPad Mini with more DPI than the iPad.

That's for sure. Sorry to disappoint you guys

Please tell me the lotto numbers for this week.

 

[mdelvecchio]

I hoping Apple will make the iPad Mini Retina equal to that of the iPad5! If they short change the CPU; I'm going to past on a new iPad for 2013! I hate to always buy outdate technology just protect another model's high end profitability. Apple should just charge more for the iPad Mini Retina and put in the good stuff instead of crippling the iPad Mini Retina!

you really dont know what youre talking about. they put in what does the job, not what protects high end units. the mini and the regular have different use cases to build against.

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I will love if actually it's marginally thicker. I hate this thinness war. Once you add some plastic case you end up with a pretty thick device again to protect it against the world.

Thinner is not better.

i cant imagine placing my ipads into a thick plastic case. at all.

thinner is better. paper-thin, clear tablets as seen in sci-fi movies is the goal. you cant there from here unless you continue to iteratively make them thinner.

iteration. thats how technology works.

 

[NowConverted]

Is that 'thin film' made of synthetic sapphire by any chance?

A virtually indestructible screen (nearly as hard as diamond) would be a nice upgrade

They're testing the adamantium screen but probably it will not ready for this year's iPads

 

[Notafanboyyet]

thinner bezel = horrible idea, another example of Apple's form over function.

I'm sorry but what? The thinner bezel on the iPad mini was introduced for the sole purpose of placing function alongside form, if you watch the iPad mini video you will see that the reduced side bezel was introduced so that the iPad mini could be held, and used comfortably with one hand. Your above statement is utter poppycock and nothing else

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I will love if actually it's marginally thicker. I hate this thinness war. Once you add some plastic case you end up with a pretty thick device again to protect it against the world.
Thinner is not better.

It's better to make a product thinner for everyone, and then let some people voluntarily make it thicker, than it is to make a product that is thicker, and that as a result wont attract as many customers.

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Am I the only one who thins that the new generation iPad shown in the picture looks a bit squished? The side bezels look great but it looks as if the home button is a bit too tight, potentially not enough room for Touch ID?

 

[MVallee]

Better hide that credit card I suppose

More like I better hide the credit card bill from my partner after I max it out on new Apple products

 

[handsome pete]

I'm sorry but what? The thinner bezel on the iPad mini was introduced for the sole purpose of placing function alongside form, if you watch the iPad mini video you will see that the reduced side bezel was introduced so that the iPad mini could be held, and used comfortably with one hand. Your above statement is utter poppycock and nothing else

I think you're misunderstanding his point. Of course that's why it was done for the mini. But in order to hold the standard size iPad with one hand, you need to use your thumb to grasp the front of the screen where the bezel is. That's not going to change. Now if that bezel is shrunk, will it still be as easy to hold without your thumb touching the screen? That's what people are questioning. Making the device thinner and lighter is great as long you still maintain the same level of comfort/useability.

Not saying it won't, but it's a concern.

 

[Rogifan]

More leaks of an alleged gold iPad mini with touch id.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/124...eaks-in-gold-w-touch-id-ahead-of-apple-event/

 

[Tech198]

Yes, Yes, & Triple Yes.

All true, including the display

Now, its must be a 4K display too..

The haswell Macbook Pro was expected, why would they let this one slide, however I also would have to think still of expecting they'll announce optical drive Macbook pro will be dropped out of existence.

Ok... Maybe not now, but it must be soon..... I mean look at the rest of the line ?

This is the only Mac left with optical drive, so Apple clearly going optical-less.

Plus, if people want optical, buy that external super drive.... There is no reason why this puppy should be round any longer where there are other options.

Even the new Trascan (aka Mac Pro) is all external-less, and no optical in the new iMac either.

Another prediction over.

(edit :- Proudly bought to you by lots of caffeine)

Its another mixed bag of Apple products.

 

[csrini1]

The real question should have been will it come with touch-id and gold color option?

 

[ColdShadow]

A iPad mini with retina, huh? I sure hope so but unless there has been a breakthrough in battery life, this may be a stretch. I don't see Apple shipping a device with ~2.5 hours battery life.

Maybe a b & w retina display?

I don't understand why some people make such a fuss about retina being to extra oridinary and challenging to fit into ipad mini,don't you know amazon kf hdx and google n7 2013 both have close to retina res screens,yet neither suffer from 2.5 hour battery limitation.
apple didn't make original mini retina,because of marketing reasons not because they couldn't.
also the price of ipad mini is already high enough.it's the most expensive tablet in sub 8 inches class,so the retina upgraded model should cost same as the original.
I am 100% confident that we will ipad mini with retina screen tomorrow.no problem,in fact it's already 1 year late.

 

[portishead]

I'm going to buy a Retina Mini. I might sell my rMBP if they release new ones. If they release a 4K display, I might pick one of those up too. I doubt I'll grab a Mac Pro, I don't have much use for it at home.

It's already been reported the new iPad casings fit the Touch ID button exactly. So of course I expect the announcement tomorrow to include touch ID on all iPads.

 

[lobeyonekenobi]

This is where I show my ignorance as it pertains to processors. The A7 runs the retina display on the iPhone 5S. So is it that the A7 processor needs even more power because the iPad screens are much larger? Again, please forgive my lack of knowledge on this subject. I'm trying to understand how all of this works.

Bubbles how ya been???

 

[Michael CM1]

damn i own an ipad 3 and can think of a ton of good reasons to upgrade to the 5,far more than just ditching the 30 pin cable.

OK, let me restate. There are plenty of good reasons to upgrade if the iPad 5 is basically most of the updates we saw in the iPhone 5S and the slimming down of the body. However, there aren't really any to make me fork out the $400 difference between the $200 I can get trading in my iPad 3 and buying a new iPad 5 32GB. It's probably more like $450 because the Smart Case won't work on a smaller iPad, meaning a new case.

Meanwhile, I upgraded from an iPhone 4S to an iPhone 5S for about $180 after a trade-in, plus about $25 for extra cables and a case. So $200 for a larger phone with a better camera, LTE and Touch ID. I also carry my phone EVERYWHERE since it obviously fits in my pocket.

 

[wmukj]

Thinner and lighter you say? GTFO! At least "magical" isn't being used anymore.

I appreciate Apple's products. They're still fantastically designed and feel great in-hand and in use, they just seem stale to me personally. Their efforts on the consumer technological fronts that still have room for improved and enhanced UX are much obliged, but I fear the days of draw-dropping ventures, may be all but gone.

If I have to hear the words "thinnest and lightest yet" used to describe anything other than my body weight, then I fear I may have to steer clear my dear peers of the former undisputed products of the year!

I'll give Apple their propers for still churning out the best (albeit overpriced) products on the market for now, but it may be time to tamper expectations going forward. Just my personal thoughts expressed through a rambling, too long post

 

[HarryWild]

CNBC video clip at the ends said that "Apple might treat the iPad Mini Retina as a flagship device". So that means it may be the same components inside as the iPad 5! I hope this is the case; since I willing to spend the same amount on the iPad Mini Retina as the iPad 5! Maybe even a bit more for the iPad Mini Retina since it is smaller size.

 

[downpour]

It would break as soon as you started using it.

The challenge of a good touchscreen in a portable device is being flexible to account for pressure in use and dropping while having a glass-like feeling and resistance to scratches.

Why would you want an iPad to flex? Surely that wouldn't be very good for the internal components. Regardless, I doubt you could break it, they use synthetic sapphire to make aerospace windows and bulletproof armour. It is also far more scratch resistant than glass and highly transparent, which is why Apple just used it in the iPhone 5s.

http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-Sapphire-Series-Modern-Applications

 

[Syk]

I wonder how much Gen1 ipad mini will drop.

Really wish Apple would put GPS in the wifi only models or someone come up with an app that would allow you to pair your iphone with your iPad and get the GPS data that way.

It would be nice if they would just drop the wifi version line and drop the price of the cellular version to the price point of the wifi version

Nokia is releasing their 10" RT device with LTE for the same price as the iPad Wifi only version

Need to decide if I want a Gen1 mini if cheap enough after the price drop or Gen2.

Won't be buying till after Christmas so I have some time to decide.

 

[nviz22]

What about that low cost iPad Mini around $250 or less?

 

[Sugadaddy]

Really wish Apple would put GPS in the wifi only models or someone come up with an app that would allow you to pair your iphone with your iPad and get the GPS data that way.

Connect the iPad to the iPhone using Personal Hotspot, and the WiFi iPad will use the iPhone's GPS...