The tech world has been waiting anxiously for any metaphorical mail trucks leaving the Cupertino, California, area. Because on one of them is a slew of media invites to Apple’s rumored unveiling of the iPad Mini. This event is slotted to take place sometime this month (October), and with us already a quarter of the way through, you can be sure that the e-vites will be flooding business PCs soon.
But are we prepped to see more than just a mythical miniature of the iPad? What about a revamped version of the company’s most recent tablet, the iPad HD (iPad 3rd Generation)? The Guardian seems to think there is a distinct possibility we will see an upgraded device, and I completely agree with them.
Since the iPad HD was released, Apple engineered a few new parts, mostly for the introduction of their iPhone 5 handset. Most importantly though, we saw the release of 4G cellular support, and a fancy new slot called the Lightning Port. And to be honest, it makes perfect sense for Apple to add these upgrades to its iPad HD. Let’s also not forget the new, more powerful A6 chip that Apple unveiled. Surely the iPad HD would benefit from this upgrade, and I can’t really see any reason that Apple wouldn’t slip this new processor in.
But is the upgrade coming at a good time? If they decide to release a revamp, and it’s the day of or a few days after the event (as past events have shown), how many people are realistically going to purchase it? More importantly, how many people are going to be able to afford it after buying an original iPad HD, an iPhone 5, and probably an iPad Mini? I suppose it is entirely possible that Apple could offer this upgrade for free to consumers who already purchased an iPad HD, although I highly doubt they will.
On a side note, The Guardian also claims that the iPad Mini will not have 3G or 4G cellular support. Although this should come as no surprise to most, considering that a lot of the popular mini tablets out there feature WiFi exclusively. In fact, Apple’s real competition, the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7, are WiFi-enabled-only tablets. This shift away from cellular capabilities is most likely a quick way to cut down on costs, as Apple will need its iPad Mini to come in at a very low price point to be a true competitor.
