iPad Mini 5 release date to follow immediately after rumored September launch?

The iPad Mini 4. Will its follow-up come out in September as rumored?[photo: Apple.com]

Speculations suggest that Apple plans to release the new iPad Mini 5 immediately after its launch in September.

Previously, fans expected the new iPad Mini slate to come out early this year, either at the company-sponsored March launch event or the WWDC 2016. However, the two major Apple events concluded without the new iPad Mini 5 being unveiled. Since the Cupertino-based company still has one remaining press event to launch, it is said that the new Mini slate may finally appear before 2016 ends, possibly by September.

However, being guaranteed a reveal doesn't mean that a new product will release to the market right away. On the other hand, with the way that Apple handles its product releases, fans already expect that the iPad Mini 5 will roll out to the public before the year ends. One aspect of having a Q4 launch for Apple is that the company places its new releases just before the holiday rush, so it is almost guaranteed that the new iPad Mini tablet will come out by December.

Apple also hinted that new products will come out soon, since the recently announced iOS 10 will supposedly run "on iPad 4th-gen or newer."

However, given the current lineup of Apple's iPad series, some observers are not convinced that a new iPad Mini is in the works. Usually, a new iPad Mini accompanies a new iPad Air addition, with the specs sheet almost a trimmed-down version of the new Air iteration. This means that most fans are expecting the iPad Mini 5 to come out with the rumored iPad Air 3, which haven't been released yet.

There are some talks that with Apple going for a scaled-down, 2016 edition of the iPad Pro, the iPad Air lineup is almost dead. Should the iPad Air 3 fail to materialize, will fans see an iPad Pro Mini instead?