Apple has yet to provide details on its plans for the rumored launch events in the second half of the year. Speculations suggest that there might even be a new iPad Mini that will be revealed this year.
According to PC Advisor, fans already expect the iPad Mini 5 to come out this year, since Apple habitually comes out with a Mini version of the iPad every year. However, for 2016, the slate landscape changed drastically for the Cupertino-based company, so a new iPad Mini is still up in the air.
Instead of the rumored iPad Air 3, Apple managed to release a new slate lineup by expanding its iPad Pro iteration. The biggest iPad iteration at 12.9 inches, and the company rolled out a 2016 edition of the slate and made it a more compact version. The 2016 iPad Pro has a 9.7-inch display, almost the same dimensions as the iPad Air lineup. However, instead of the media-centered, all-around slate like the iPad Air series, the new 2016 iPad Pro is basically a smaller variant of the original hybrid, meaning that it packs the same professional-level features and specs as the iPad Pro released last year.
This made some observers doubt that there will be a new iPad Mini released this year, since previous iterations are just like smaller versions of an iPad Air variant. With the way the specs and features of the new iPad Pro is set up, a Mini version seems unlikely.
Meanwhile, other observers are saying that since the current-gen iPad Mini 4 is still considered an up-to-date variant, a new follow-up is uncertain. For TechRadar, the iPad Mini 4's specs and features can easily contend with other smaller slates from competitors, and even come out on top.
