After months and months of speculation and rumour, the iPad Mini is widely expected to be announced in the next few weeks after production was reportedly started at a Foxconn plant in Brazil. Let’s have a look at what we think we know about this new Apple gadget.
Form Factor and Display
The crux of the iPad Mini will be its 7.85″ display, much smaller than the 9.7″ display of the iPad. The resolution is expected to be the same size and aspect ratio as the first and second generation iPad, 1024 x 768. That means apps built for the iPad 1 and 2 will work perfectly on the new tablet. The chassis is expected to look pretty much as you’d expect – a smaller version of the iPad, noticeably wider than the Nexus 7.
That would be good for a pixels per inch measurement of 163 – some way behind the 264 pixels per inch of the iPad 3 and 215 pixels per inch of the Nexus 7, but still a respectable amount. The iPad Mini does have a considerably larger physical screen size than the Nexus 7 though, as although the diagonal measurement is less than an inch bigger, the squarer aspect ratio also contributes to a larger screen size.
Interestingly, there is another possibility. If the iPad Mini had the same resolution display as the iPad 3, 2048 x 1536, then it would result in a pixel per inch measurement of 326 PPI: Exactly the same as the iPhone 4 and 4S. Still, it would be a very impressive piece of tech to include in a budget tablet, which would no doubt push the price much higher. I’d guess we’d see this resolution for a second generation iPad Mini.
Software
The iPad Mini would expected to launch with iOS 6, the same operating system that was recently launched with the iPhone 5. As well as including the new Siri options and Maps, Apple may also use the 7″ form factor’s proclivity for media consumption to launch their Spotify-like music streaming service. That’d be a nice addition to the platform, and mesh really nicely with Apple’s existing iTunes Store content.
Processor, Graphics and Memory
The iPad Mini is likely to include the same kind of specifications as the second generation iPad. That means a dual core 1 GHz processor based on a 32 nanometer process, 16 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM. The price point will determine if we see any changes here – I’d expect that if Apple want to hit a low price point, they’d change little from the iPad 2.
Cameras
The iPad Mini could reasonably expect to shirk one or both of its predecessor’s cameras. The Nexus 7 comes without a back-facing camera, and if one has to go I’d agree with that – it’s silly to take photos with a tablet’s rear-camera anywhere else than in your room by yourself.
Network Connectivity
While the iPad 3 comes in Wi-Fi, 3G and LTE editions, I expect we’ll see just the former for the iPad Mini. A small size means less room for batteries, which make up nearly all of the LTE-capable iPad 3. LTE also adds a large cost to the tablet, making it less suitable for something that’ll be available at a low price point.
Accessories
We’ve also seen a lot of iPad Mini accessories from various retailers and case manufacturers. For instance, we’ve got this what looks to be faux-leather iPad Mini case found on Alibaba, which shows off the new smaller size as well as a suspected front-facing camera.
Release Date
The iPad Mini event invitations are expected to go out on October 10th, with an event on October 17th. That would line up with an actual release date of October 26th (when Microsoft’s Windows 8 and Surface tablets come out) or November 2nd, just a few days before the US presidential election. The iPad Mini will definitely be on shelves before Christmas barring any major supply issues.
Price
The two major competitors of the iPad Mini are likely to be Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD tablets. These tablets cost £159 for their lowest capacity variants. The iPad Mini will probably cost slightly more than these – around £200 to £250. If Apple does manage to hit this price point, it could open up Apple tablet ownership to a much larger slice of the populace.
Conclusion
So there you have it – our predictions for the iPad Mini. What do you think of the new Apple tablet – how much would it have to cost for you to pick one up? Let us know in the comments below or talk to us on Twitter @mobilefun.