Apple is on to refreshing its existing product lines lately as evidenced by the souped-up versions of the iPhone SE, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro. The trend will continue as reports coming from Asia pointed to the imminent release of a new iPad version and perhaps a reconstructed iPad Mini, and both could be coming out before the end of 2020 at the earliest.
From Taiwan, well-known Apple insider Ming-chi Kuo made known his latest predictions on upcoming devices from the Cupertino-based tech giant. Kuo said two new iPad models will see the light of day and for this specific push, the "selling points will be the affordable price tag and the adoption of fast chips."
"We predict that Apple will launch the new 10.8 inch iPad and 8.5-9 inch iPad mini models in 2H20 and 1H21, respectively ... The two new iPad models will follow iPhone SE's product strategy," MacRumors reported Kuo as saying.
As stated in his latest release note, the Apple-focused analyst said the plan by Apple is to make the upcoming iOS tablets attractive by pricing them reasonably and equipped them with the most recent available processing chips.
It's unclear, however, if the two iPads will debut boasting of the A13 Bionic chip, which was found on the iPhone SE and the iPhone 11 series, or the devices will be flexing the same processors slated for use with the iPhone 12 release.
It is expected, however, that the new iPad and iPad Mini will mirror the redesign introduced with the iPad Pro that mostly highlighted slim bezels around the screen and trimmed down profiles. if that will be the case, the smallest of the iPad could be out having the same size as the older generations but with a significantly stretched display.
So from 7.9-inch, Apple will bump up the iPad Mini screen to possibly 8.9-inch but the device chassis will stay the same. The larger display will be made possible as the screen is pushed further to the four edges of the device, which for Apple fans is something gorgeous to look forward to.
As for the pricing, the cheapest tablet on Apple's catalog is the iPad that sells for $329 in baseline configuration, The Verge noted in a related report. This could be the same starting price point that the 10.8-inch iPad will debut with and no doubt will make for a compelling selling point.
The new iPad Mini with a larger display will likely sell at a slightly lower tag, possibly at $299 and if true that the chipset to come is the latest from Apple then the device could prove a tempting offering from Apple.
Per the claims made by Kuo, the new iPads could be deployed between the last months of 2020 and the first half of the following year. It is unknown for now if the products will arrive in installment or all at once.
