Posted on 22 Oct 2013 at 18:24, by David Ludlow
Our iPad Mini 2 specs, features, release date, price & news article is about to be put to the test, as we see whether weeks of hype and speculation can match reality
Two hours to go
We're only a couple of hours away from Apple's San Francisco press event, where the iPad Mini 2 is almost certain to arrive alongside a refreshed iPad 5. There's a good chance we'll see updated MacBook Pro laptops and OS X Mavericks too, but we're concentrating on Apple's diminutive iPad Mini successor here.
We're at a smaller London event at Apple's UK headquarters and will be bringing you all the news as it happens. You can follow this evening's event via our Apple October event hub article, with links to all the latest information and hands-on reviews once we get them.
Even with the rumour mill grinding into overdrive in the last few days, Apple is going to make us wait right up until the reveal to find out the facts. In the meantime, we've got an overview of all the rumours, leaks and updates that led up to the launch.
Steve Jobs was adamant that it didn't need a smaller iPad, but the success of Google's Nexus 7 convinced the company otherwise and the iPad Mini was released last year - to critical acclaim and phenomenal sales.
Apple usually only keeps products around for a year, so it stands to reason that we're now due the iPad Mini 2. In this article we've sifted through countless rumours to work out when we can expect to see it, how much it will cost and what features it will have.
With tonight's launch event now just a few hours away, we don't have long to wait, and considering the first iPad Mini was released alongside the iPad 4, we will almost certainly be seeing an iPad 5 too.
IPAD MINI 2 SCREEN
The biggest expectation for the iPad Mini 2 is that Apple will find a way to squeeze in a Retina display. The lowly 1,024x768 resolution of the iPad Mini now pales in comparison to the new Nexus 7, even though the clever use of screen space in iOS often means it actually feels more spacious than Android. Technically speaking the iPad doesn't really need more resolution, although it would be nice if it did - especially as its 163 pixels per inch (PPI) pixel density falls far behind that of the Retina iPad 4.
According to BrightWire, AU Optronics is manufacturing a 7.9in screen with a resolution of 2,048x1,536. This would give the iPad Mini 2 a pixel density of 324ppi, just behind the iPhone 5's 326ppi.
This resolution would match that of the iPad 4, meaning that all existing iOS apps will work with it without any need for developers to tweak their designs. However, as Apple has said that retina means you can't see individual pixels on a screen and the iPad 4 has a retina display, the same resolution on a 7.9in screen is more than retina. In other words, in Apple's definition, it's pointless.
Rumours of parts delays have cast a shadow on Retina displays for the iPad Mini 2, possibly meaning the high-resolution version won't ship until next year. However, we've seen tons of rumours surrounding Apple delays in the past that ended up being false.
We're still fairly confident that the iPad Mini 2 will end up with the same resolution as the full-size iPad. That way, Apple only has to get developers to write apps for the one screen resolution. Apple has always been about getting the best experience possible for iOS, so having apps that fit the screen resolution of every device is very important.
IPAD MINI 2 DESIGN
As the newest iPad design, it's widely expected for Apple to stick with the original iPad Mini design for the sequel and copy it for the larger iPad 5. We don't really expect the iPad Mini 2 to look that different from the first model, with the exception of a few visual tweaks and a new colour option.
It seems as though the iPad 5 will look like the current Mini, so we can't see the Mini 2 looking much different
Apple has apparently been looking at a slimmer case for the iPad Mini 2. A lot of the thickness of the current tablet is down to the size of its battery, which Apple can't do a lot about unless it wants to trade off battery power for size and weight, but the company rarely reduces headline specs like battery life for its successor products.
Leaked images from Sonny Dickson seem to confirm that the iPad Mini 2 isn't going to be too different to the existing model. Dickson has good form, leaking the iPhone 5S before it was launched, so there's good reason to believe that his images are the real thing.
The iPad Mini 2 (left) looks very similar to the iPad Mini (right)
The leaked shots show the case in space grey, to match the new iPhone 5S colour, but it has none of the internals in place or even the screen. Still, from the shots we can see that the iPad Mini 2 isn't a big departure from its predecessor. In fact, the two models are practically identical, which is just as we expected.
What has changed is that the iPad Mini 2 looks set to be a bit slimmer than the iPad Mini, suggesting that Apple has used new screen technology in order to get the thinner design. The latest leaks finally show what appears to be a gold iPad Mini 2, which would be in keeping with the new colour launched for the iPhone 5s.
Otherwise known as champagne gold, the new colour will likely join space grey and white to give iPad Mini 2 customers a choice of three colours.
iPAD MINI 2 TOUCH ID
Apple introduced the Touch ID fingerprint scanner with the iPhone 5s as a way to give people a secure yet easy way to access their phone. Turning on Touch ID requires users to create a passcode, so it also pushes them to give some consideration to smartphone security.
At the moment, Touch ID can only be used to unlock the iPhone and authorise App Store and iTunes purchases, but it's not hard to see a future where Apple will open up the technology to other people. For example, a banking app that required a fingerprint to be used would surely interest the banks.
If Apple is serious about getting Touch ID accepted by third-party developers, then it would make sense to include it on as many new devices as possible, including the iPad Mini 2 - hence the whirlpool of rumours suggesting it will make an appearance at tonight's event.
After a video posted to YouTube by Unbox Therapy showed how the Touch ID home button fits perfectly in the leaked iPad Mini 2 front panel, several still images showed a champagne gold iPad Mini with the sensor in place.
Considering the existing iPad home button is too big to fit the leaked front panels of the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, but the Touch ID home button from an iPhone 5S fit perfectly, it looks highly likely that both new tablets will take the fingerprint reader.
Reports that Touch ID is in short supply and that Apple is struggling to meet demand for its iPhone 5S have cast a little doubt on the situation. However, we've lost count of the number of times that Apple has been reported to have delays, only for products to come out as planned. If Apple wants to push Touch ID it needs to have it more devices, so we'd expect to see it in the iPad Mini 2.
IPAD MINI 2 PROCESSOR
As well as having the same resolution as the iPad 2, the iPad Mini had the same processor, a dual-core Apple A5. If it gets a higher resolution screen it will definitely require a faster graphics processor - that could be the Apple A6X chip used in the iPad 4, and even if the resolution stays the same as the current model it will probably get the Apple A6 processor to run iOS 7 smoothly.
However, Apple is also working on the A7, a replacement for the A6. It may decide to simplify the range with a single processor, giving the smaller tablet the same processing power as its big brother.
IPAD MINI 2 STORAGE
Although Apple launched a 128GB iPad 4, we're still expecting the iPad Mini 2 to have the same storage options as before. There's a stronger argument to have more storage on the larger iPad, as it is more suited to productivity and has more power to run intensive 3D rendering apps, but given that Apple has the technology, it could sell an iPad Mini with the same capacity.
IPAD MINI 2 RELEASE DATE
There have been plenty of rumoured release dates for the iPad Mini 2, but so far they have all been wrong. Earlier in the year, Tim Cook said in an earnings call with investors "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services that we can't wait to introduce this fall and throughout 2014" - suggesting an Autumn launch.
Now that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c have been revealed, that only leaves a few months for Apple to reveal any new products for 2013. Since the original iPad Mini was announced in October 2013, one month after the September launch of the iPhone 5, it would make sense that we'll see the iPad Mini 2 in October 2014.
When invites went out for a 22nd of October event, we seemingly had our reveal date. According to AllThingsD the event will focus on the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, but there should be some Mac news, too, with OS X Mavericks and the Mac Pro finally being released after they were teased earlier in the year.
The iPhone 5S was unveiled at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, with a European event in Berlin and a follow-up event in China, but Apple has chosen the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco as the venue for tonight's reveal.
IPAD MINI 2 PRICE
Thanks to Apple's incredibly consistent pricing, you'd expect the iPad Mini 2 to cost roughly the same as the iPad Mini. That means £269 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version, £349 for the 32GB model and £429 for the 64GB version. We correctly guessed the price of the 128GB iPad 4, so if the iPad Mini follows the same pricing structure, a 128GB version would cost £509. Expect to pay £100 more for the equivalent Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
Given the strong competition for small tablets, it could be that Apple decides to reduce the price of its products, with a rumoured starting price of $299 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. There's no easy conversion to UK pounds, but that should translate as around £259 in the UK, which would put the iPad Mini 2 at a similar price to the Google Nexus 7.
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