iPad mini 5 release date, price & specs rumours


Unloved, once again. Apple failed to announce a new iPad mini at the 30 October special event, but it's not dead yet. We analyse the leaks and rumours about the iPad mini 5's release date, new features, specs and price.
By David Price | 30 Oct 18

CONTENTS
> Release date > Design  > Will the iPad mini be discontinued? > Tech specs  > Price > New features wishlist
Two new iPad Pros were announced during Apple's 30 October special event, but none with that sought after 7.9in compact screen size. But while it may have been left out of the launch party for a third year in a row, the iPad mini 4 remains on sale - and there's still hope for a new model.

It's been more than three years since the iPad mini 4 was unveiled back in September 2015, and that 7.9in screen and slim chassis remains a popular design. Will there ever be an iPad mini 5, or will Apple discontinue the line?

In this article we round up and analyse all the iPad mini 5 leaks and rumours. Read on to find out about the features and specs we would expect to see on a new iPad mini. This will be valuable info if you have an ageing mini and think it might be time to buy a replacement.

If you're looking for an iPad to buy right now, you might find our iPad buying guide useful. We've also got plenty of iPad deals to share with you.

New iPad mini: Release date
On 23 Oct legendary analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that a new mini is in the works, but it turns out it wasn't quite ready for the special press event on 30 Oct 2018, in which new iPad Pro models were launched along with a redesigned Apple Pencil, a new Mac mini and a 13.3in MacBook Air.

It's been so long since the launch of the mini 4 that we had been losing faith in this product line ever being updated at all - a Bloomberg report in late August suggested there would be no new iPad mini in 2018 - but bearing in mind the phenomenal success of the mini line back in the day and the popularity of the bargain-priced iPad 9.7in, there's surely appetite for a new model.

Apple has kept the iPad mini 4 on sale - for now. Which means there is renewed hope that it hasn't given up on its smaller iPad just yet.

Will the iPad mini be discontinued?
Even if Apple decides not to update the iPad mini, that doesn't necessarily mean it will stop being sold. A DigiTimes report on 17 August indicated that Apple has no "further plan for the iPad mini series" but stated that Apple will continue to sell it.

How long the iPad mini will remain on sale remains to be seen, though.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks that the days of the iPad mini are numbered. He said in a note to investors back in March 2018 that the iPad mini has been a flop because it has been replaced by large-screen smartphones.

In a note to investors Kuo said that he has seen: "Strong demand for low-price 9.7-inch iPad in 2017. iPad shipments hit 43.8 million units in 2017, well above the 35 million units forecast by the market at the beginning of the year. The primary driver was the low-price 9.7-inch model, whose selling points are competitive pricing and a significantly larger panel than those of six- to seven-inch smartphones (iPad mini was a flop because it was replaced by large-screen smartphones). In a bid to strengthen its selling points and to differentiate it more from low-price Android tablets, the new low-price 9.7-inch iPad (starting mass production in 2Q18) will likely support Apple Pencil."

Kuo also issued a report back in January 2017 suggesting that Apple would announce three new iPads that year (a statement that was proven to be true), but no new mini - and that there would be a rise in the average selling price of iPads thanks to "decreasing exposure to iPad mini".


In a report from BGR in May 2017 a source claimed Apple was phasing out the iPad mini line completely - but couldn't confirm when this would happen. And after the lack of a new iPad mini at WWDC 2017, TechCrunch said the fourth model "is probably going to be the last iPad mini ever".

The end of the iPad mini is no surprise given the low price of the 9.7in iPad, the larger screens on the iPhone XS, and iPhone XR, and other larger screened smartphones.

However, people looking to buy tablets aren't necessarily looking for a phone - the tablet might be for a child to watch YouTube on, or play games, or it might be a laptop replacement, in which case the smaller sized iPad mini may well appeal more than a larger model.

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