Apple to unveil new iPad tablets in late October

Apple plans to announce its next-generation iPad and iPad mini media tablets at a special event in late October, a media report claims. It is interesting to note that the new iPads will be launched almost exactly one year after the current-generation tablets from Apple.

The consumer electronics giant plans to formally unveil its sixth-generation iPad and its third-generation iPad mini at its next special event that will be held on the 21st of October, 2014, according to The Daily Dot. The key features of Apple's new tablets are already known thanks to the launch of the new iPhones. The next-gen iPad tablets will be powered by Apple A8 system-on-chip, iOS 8 operating system, will feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi and will possibly get Touch ID fingerprint reader. The models with 3G/4G/LTE baseband capabilities will also gain support for up to 150Mb/s data-rates as well as new frequencies.

Some media sources also expect Apple to slightly alter designs of the new iPads and add certain new functionality. While it is possible that Apple could add something to its media tablets, it is unlikely that it will do anything major, increase screen resolutions, for example.

While it will be interesting to see which innovations the new iPad media tablets will get, it will be no less interesting to see how the iPad lineup will change by the end of next month. At present Apple’s most affordable tablets are iPad 4 with retina display and iPad mini (first-gen, A5 SoC, non-retina screen) that cost $399 and $299, respectively. The introduction of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 could eliminate the iPad 4 and the original iPad mini, or make them more affordable. Alternatively, the new models could eliminate the original iPad Air and the iPad mini, which means that the iPad mini with retina display will get cheaper.

What is somewhat surprising is that the web-site also claims that Apple intends to unveil its next-generation Mac OS X “Yosemite” at the same event. If Apple plans to formally introduce a new operating system for its personal computers on the 21st of October, then the company could also unveil its new PCs. Based on rumours, Apple is preparing an all-new MacBook Air with 12.5” display as well as a brand-new iMac with ultra-high-definition monitor. For Apple, it is not really logical to launch a new OS without new Macs.

Apple did not comment on the news-story.

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KitGuru Says: The new iPads are not generally expected to be as innovative compared to their predecessors as the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are compared to the iPhone 5S. What is clear is that Apple’s tablets will likely remain in the premium segment since the company does not want to sell its gadgets at truly affordable price-points.

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