The iPhone 6 may be the hottest device coming from Apple this year, but that doesn’t mean the company has stopped working on some other interesting products. A new report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News says Apple will soon launch an even slimmer iPad mini model, and that it’s still working on a bigger iPad Pro version.
FROM EARLIER: iPhone 6 and next-gen Retina iPad mini rendered by design master
The third-generation iPad mini – awkwardly referred to as the “iPad mini Air” – will supposedly be 30% thinner than its predecessor. MacRumors points out that, with the Retina iPad mini, Apple increased the profile of the tablet from 7.2mm (in first-gen 7.9-inch tablet) to 7.5mm.
Assuming the new report from Taiwan is accurate, a 30% reduction in thickness would mean the iPad mini 3 would measure just 5.25mm, a rather questionable number, considering that the tablet will likely pack a Retina display, which requires more power and battery life than lower resolution screens.
Additionally, the slimmer iPad mini Air is also said to pack a new A8 processor built by TSMC.
As for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, which appeared so far in various rumors this year, the Economic Daily News quotes DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh saying that Apple may postpone the tablet’s launch to 2015. Existing iPad Pro reports are often contradicting, with some expecting the bigger tablet to arrive this year, alongside new Air and mini models, and others saying the project has either been postponed, or even canceled.
