iPad Mini 4 May Be Available As Soon As April

By all accounts, the iPad mini 3 wasn’t particularly exciting as updates go. The only differences between it and its predecessor, the iPad mini 2, was that it came in a gold color and had a fingerprint sensor.

Historically, Apple has announced updates to its iPad line in early October and then released the devices in early November or late October. It’s logical to assume that the iPad mini 4 would wait until November of 2015 to launch, but Macworld has suggested that a new iteration of the iPad mini might debut in April, along with the much hoped for iPad Pro.

Mac Fan reported this month that the iPad mini 4 would boast the same A8x processor that makes the iPad Air 2 one of the best tablets currently on the market. The same source suggested that Apple would remove both the iPad mini and the iPad mini 3 from the market at the same time, leaving just the iPad mini 2 to continue its trend of positive sales.

According to Macworld, “This seems perfectly feasible to us, as the iPad 2 stayed on for several years despite the removal of some of its successors from the line-up.”

If you’re not familiar with the concept of the iPad Pro, Macworld describes it as “one of the most speculated-about and hyped-up fantasy Apple products of the past few years – right up there with the Apple Watch – but unlike Apple’s new wearable we don’t know for sure if it even exists.”

Since there has been no official reports, of course, all that can be done is speculate about what the device–called either the iPad Air Plus or the iPad Pro, depending on the source–might include. A larger screen is the biggest possibility, often quoted at between 12.2 and 12.9 inches, compared to the iPad Air’s more sedate 9.7 inches. Some sources also suggest that the device might be a hybrid tablet/laptop like the Windows Surface, although Macworld finds that “unlikely.”

Macworld quotes an anonymous source related to the Apple manufacturing division, stating that Apple had hoped to begin production on the new device in December, but had to push back the dates due to iPhone 6 demand.

Not everyone seems to think that the launch of the iPad Pro will be good news for the mini line, however. Some experts are theorizing that once the iPad Pro is available, Apple will focus on the iPhone 6 Plus line, letting the iPad mini line lapse entirely.

Are you looking forward to a new iPad mini launch?

[Image from Techradar]