Like the last two iPads before it, Apple’s next generation iPad and iPad mini is rumored to be on track for a fall release. Just in time for the back to school season, according to DigiTimes.
The long and short of it? Not much will be changing.
According to their sources, Max Wang and Joseph Tsai seem to believe that the full-sized iPad may get a thinner bezel but other than that, small spec-based tweaks. “In addition to the Retina Display, the new tablet features a slimmer bezel design to allow a bigger viewing area, while the number of LED tubes used for the device has been reduced from two to one, and battery longevity is also improved.”
They’re unsure if the iPad mini will get a retina display. According to the pair, Apple’s still on the fence about including a Retina display in the iPad mini this time around:
As for the new 7.9-inch iPad mini, the sources pointed out that Apple is still considering whether to adopt a Retina Display for the device, and if the company decides to do so, the product’s release may be delayed to the end of the fourth quarter.
While the bigger screen is nice, I’d be willing to bet that most people see the Retina display as the major point of differentiation between the two iPad models at this point. I’ve traded in my iPad 3 for an iPad mini (by traded in, I mean it sits on the shelf as a music player and recipe/cooking device mostly). It’s hard to jump from Retina to non-Retina, but it hasn’t been as big of a concern as I thought it would be back when I wrote my iPad mini review.
For me, the iPad mini is the best iPad on the market. If it went Retina, I’d never consider the bigger, bulkier iPad again. Funny how that happens.
