iPad Mini – When, What and Why

The iPad Mini is purported to be announced on September 12th and the world will apparently come to a stand-still to see what Apple has up its sleeves. While there’s lots of buzz around the iPhone 5, it seems like those rumors are yesterday’s news in light of the white-hot supernova rumor mill that is the iPad Mini. After reading all the rumors and tracking Apple’s history, let’s take a look at the When, What and Why when we examine the iPad Mini.

If you want to read our latest iPhone 5 Rumor Roundup, there’s plenty good stuff there too.

iPad Mini – When?

Well, we can pretty much bet the farm that Apple will either be announcing the iPad Mini on September 12th, during their iPhone 5 press conference, or at an event many media outlets are speculating will take place in October of this year. Either way during the September to October timeframe, we’ll finally hear the “when” for the iPad Mini. Given that we have the 4-6 week range for when it’ll be announced, we’re left to speculate as to when it’ll be released. It’d take an act of biblical proportions to think that Apple would delay what would be the hottest selling item for the 2012 holiday shopping season. Seriously, think about it … Apple announces a new iPad that almost everyone can afford with all the new bells and whistles … and then doesn’t release it immediately, in time for Christmas / Hanukkah / WhateverYouCelebrate season? Please!

Q. When will we hear about the iPad Mini and when is it going to get released?
Announcement: 33% chance in September, 66% chance in October, 1% chance never.
Released: Within 2-3 weeks from the announcement.

iPad Mini – What?

There’s all sorts of speculation out there but nobody outside of Apple brass really knows what to expect. Typically with iPhone leaks we hear and see all sorts of would-be photos clearly demonstrating a new product is on the way. With the iPad Mini, that has definitely been the case around the rumor sites, including what some sites say are 7.85″ display screens specifically meant for the iPad Mini. That said, it seems like everyone is in agreement that the unit will be about 7.5″ to 8″ tall, very similar to the sizes we see with the Google Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire.

By the way, if you’re an Apple Snob and haven’t read it yet, check out our Review of the Google Nexus 7.

We can certainly expect it to have the much heralded Retina Display for what would be an approximate 7.25″ screen, giving it a leg up against other units. In order to power that display, show off the latest movies, games, websites and run all those apps, it’s very likely that the same Dual-Core Apple A5X chip that powers “the New iPad” (aka the iPad 3) will be in the iPad Mini. While some might say that is simply too big a leap, that might be true, but let’s remember that this processor has been in development for years. It’s also been released in a production unit for a year and been given plenty of time to be improved/cheapened for the manufacturing process, so it’s very likely that a processor very close to one the iPad 3 uses (or the identical one), and not the one in the iPad 2 will be seen in this new smaller edition of the iPad line.

In terms of hard drive size, Apple has traditionally offered three different sizes or at the very least two with their portable devices. It’s logical to think that the iPad Mini would have sizes of 8, 16 and 32GB for consumers to order. The 16GB follows the model that the Google Nexus 7 has adopted and would allow Apple to hit that magic $199 to $249 sweet spot they can’t hit with their existing line.

Q. What is the iPad Mini going to be?
7.85″ unit, lightweight, Retina Display, 16GB HDD (maybe 8 and 32GB options), Dual-Core processor.

iPad Mini – Why?

This one is pretty easy – to sell a boatload of stuff. And by boatload I mean a vast fleet of giant shipping tankers full of stuff. An iPad Mini would hit the price point that Apple has simply failed to hit in the past – below $200. This gap was something that all competitors quickly identified and rushed to bring out product to fill. Like Sun Tzu said in The Art of War, “Avoid strength and attack weakness,” which is what folks like Asus and Amazon did with their smaller, lighter, less costly tablets. Both the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire have been selling very well because frankly, buying two of those units under the cost of a single lowest-end Apple iPad makes a heck of a lot more sense for consumers in a terrible economy. Apple, having realized this gap, realized a solution and in methodical fashion will release a unit to sweep aside the competition like they always do and dominate the market.

Q. Why would Apple come out with an iPad Mini?
It’s called “money” … oodles and oodles of it.

Special thanks to Victor Chavez for contributing to this article.