Sketchy Rumor Claims “iPad Mini Pro” Launched in the second half of 2021

Apple is expected to launch a sixth-generation iPad mini in the first half of 2021, possibly in March itself, based on long-standing rumors. However, a new rumor in Asia that has gained attention in the last 24 hours suggests that an “iPad mini Pro” will arrive in the second half of this year.

According to a post on the Korean blog Naver, whose history of rumors is unknown, the device has an 8.7-inch display, which is housed in a chassis that has an increased width and a reduced height compared to the existing iPad mini 5.

This so-called “iPad mini Pro” is said to have gone through the initial R&D and product planning by Apple and is currently in the “P2” design stage, and Apple will soon begin project validation tests (TVP). In a typical product roadmap, Apple will then send it for production validation tests before lighting the device for mass production.

In a potentially related rumor, Kang, an occasional Chinese man, claimed on Tuesday that a “smaller full-screen iPad” is currently in the P2 design stage and is still awaiting technical validation tests. No other details were given. In any case, such a device should overcome several obstacles before any launch.

‌IPad mini‌ recently received a refreshed design in 2015 with the fourth iteration. While the device received a minor update in 2019 with the A12 Bionic chip, a True Tone display, Bluetooth 5.0 and Apple Pencil support, ‌iPad mini‌ is considered delayed for an update.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in May 2020 that the next generation ‌iPad mini‌ will have a display measuring between 8.5 and 9 inches, compared to the current screen size of 7.9 inches, while a recent report on Japanese site Mac Otakara, citing sources in China’s supply chain, said the next “iPad mini” will have an 8.4-inch screen. Similar dimensions of the 8x inch iPad mini have been reported by other sources.

However, unlike the iPad Pro and iPad Air, which in recent years have thrown away their large frames and home buttons for a more modern, full-screen design, the sixth-generation iPad mini will remain with its current language of design. Mac OtakaraThe report explains that the ‌iPad mini‌ will increase its display by reducing the frames, but will look similar to the ‌iPad Air‌ 3, with a Touch ID power button, large top and bottom frames and a Lightning port.

Mac Otakara believes that this ‌‌iPad mini‌‌ will be launched in March, so it could debut at an event later this month, if Apple follows the recent tradition. This is also in line with Kuo’s statement that the next “iPad mini” will come in the first half of 2021.

Interestingly, Kuo has said in the past that Apple is working on an ‌iPad mini‌ with a mini-LED display, but it seems unlikely that the ‌‌iPad mini‌‌ 6 will gain this significantly updated display given that it has not yet reached any other Apple device. . That being said, today’s “iPad mini Pro” rumor has nothing to do with mini-LEDs.

Apple is accelerating the adoption of mini-LEDs in the iPad and Mac notebook range, and the iPad Pro is expected to be the first product to get a mini-LED display. Kuo previously said that production of a 12.9-inch iPad Pro mini-LED version began in the fourth quarter of 2020, with a launch expected in the first half of 2021.

DigiTimes also believes a mini-LED iPad Pro will be launched in early 2021, just like Korea ETNews. It remains to be seen whether or not a “iPad mini Pro” mini-LED will follow and how such a device would fit into Apple’s current iPad range.