It has been two years since Apple announced the last iPad mini which was the sixth iteration of the device. With that in mind, the time is about right for a sequel to be announced. And a leakster has suggested that it may be happening soon.
Prominent leakster ShrimpApplePro has shared on X, formerly Twitter, that they are “seeing at least one new iPad coming. Probably mini 7”. The tweet itself doesn’t include any dates, but it is part of a thread that also mentions the Apple Watch Series 9 as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. As the fruit company has announced new refreshes for its smartwatches every year since its Series 2, a new Series is basically expected next month, when the new iPhone 15 bunch get unveiled.
I’m seeing at least one new iPad coming. Probably mini 7. Will reserved that for the next post.
— ShrimpApplePro 🍤 @ hololive Meet Taipei 2024 (@VNchocoTaco) August 1, 2023
With that in mind, it is possible that the iPad mini 7 may also be sharing the stage with these devices. If it does, then it would be consistent with the two year gap between iPad mini models. Though on the flip side, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously predicted instead that the next small Apple tablet will only begin production early next year. It remains to be seen who will be right on this, but we’ll likely find out in a month or so.
As for what to expect from the iPad mini 7, there isn’t much, really. The line has already gotten its most important upgrades, in the form of adopting the blockier design of the iPad Pro, which in turn gave it support for the Apple Pencil 2 as well as USB-C. All that’s left is the usual chipset upgrade, which will likely see it sharing the A16 or A17 with the iPhone 15 range.
(Source: ShrimpApplePro / X)
