Apple is about to unveil new hardware, it's thought, and at least one iPad is among the products. We're expecting a new iPad mini, the seventh-gen model. Here are full details of what we know so far.
The iPad mini is predicted to go on sale on Friday, Nov. 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, suggesting that the announcement will take place "around the end of October," alongside new models of MacBook Pro.
That makes sense, but I wonder if Apple may opt for a different schedule.
Last October, Apple unveiled new Macs at a pre-Halloween event it called "Scary Fast". It may be that Apple will do the same this year, and it may keep the focus of such an event on the Mac only, like last year.
If it did, that would mean the new iPad mini could be launched at any time, and sooner than Gurman is expecting. After all, products released now will be in pole position as holiday gifts, and while Nov. 1 is a good release date, earlier would be even better.
Friday is always the day of the week for an Apple product to go on sale, so if it's not Friday, Nov. 1, there are two Fridays before then: Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. The first of those may be too soon, and though that doesn't make it impossible, I favor the latter.
That said, if Gurman's expectation of iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 on Monday, Oct. 28 is correct, it could still point to a Nov. 1 release date.
This would mean that the iPad mini would be revealed by press release rather than a big event and keynote. That's not to say there won't be a keynote for the Mac, as there was this year.
But if Apple is seeking to keep that event Mac-only, then the date that the iPad mini is unveiled could be as soon as next week, that is, week commencing Monday, Oct. 14.
Apple likes a Tuesday or Wednesday announcement (though not always: the iPhone 16 was unveiled on a Monday in September this year), so it'll be worth keeping our eyes peeled on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 16, in case there's an announcement.
The new iPad mini is likely to look the same as the current one, but in a revised color range. It'll have a new processor, almost certainly one capable of Apple Intelligence.