When the company rolled out the iPad mini 3 last year, there was some disappointment with the model and its minimal upgrade, Business Insider noted.
Aside from sharing the same processor model, the iPad Mini 4 might also imitate some of the design features of the iPad Air 2. Rumors suggest this will include an “iPad mini 4″, but not an “iPad Air 3″. Citing its unnamed supply chain sources in Asia, DigiTimes claimed that components for use in assembling the Mini 4 are soon to reach Apple’s manufacturing partners in China. It’s a sign that even Apple has trouble competing in the tablet market, which Gartner predicts will further decline this year before a pickup in 2016. This is also the incentive for Apple’s about face on extremely large iPads, targeted more at the enterprise than everyday consumers. The poor sales of Apple’s iPad have also been blamed on the company’s decision to launch the large 5.5-inch Apple iPhone 6 Plus, which could have eaten into its tablet sales.
Piper Jaffray believes this points to some kind of curated video offering, but the timing could be ahead of the Apple TV launch in September.
iPad mini 4 rumors have slowly been trickling in over the last few months, which isn’t too surprising, as speculation usually gets hyped up as we get closer to the release of new Apple products. That is down from 13.2 million past year.
An article from Forbes’ Evan Spencer entitled ‘Apple’s New Blueprint For Your Next iPad’ explains how tablets have had long lives and are, in 2015, being mainly used for media consumption, despite their clear creative capabilities.
The initiative is still shrouded in security, but an Apple spokesperson told the WSJ that these companies “are developing iOS solutions across industries that will empower employees and usher in a new era of productivity”.
The recent round of leaks about the iPad Mini 4 is certainly causing some confusion.
Both the latest generations of the iPad Air and iPad min were unveiled nearly a year ago with very little fanfare.
Apple’s original iPad was just Act I, and the past year or so seems, at least in the eyes of some analysts, to have been a bit of an intermission.
iPad average selling prices have been steadily declining over the years, suggesting a shift in the product mix toward the Mini anyway.
