The iPhone 16 launch is less than 24 hours away, but according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Light Apple Newsletter Time to shine The event will not be the last major presentation of the year: more announcements are expected in October.
We've already heard about the possible arrival of a redesigned Mac mini, as well as the possibility of seeing MacBooks with an M4 processor, but now Gurman is also expecting the introduction of a new iPad model in October.
The iPad mini 7 has been the subject of rumors for quite some time. While it was initially expected to debut alongside the iPhone 16 and Apple Watch Series 10 at today’s (September 9) event, Gurman’s prediction makes sense as we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple’s Glowtime event.
No matter when the rumored iPad mini is announced, it's good news since the last model was the iPad Mini (2021), so an update was long overdue.
iPad Mini 7: What to expect
We have a wish list of what we want to see in the iPad mini 7, but key rumors suggest a new chipset and a more compact design than its predecessor. While we don’t expect the rumored M4 chip to power an iPad mini like it does the iPad Pro models, Gurman speculates that it could include support for Apple Intelligence, meaning it could be powered by the A17 Pro chip at the very least.
Gurman's use of “iPad models” in his speculation also makes us question rumors of a larger 8.7-inch iPad mini with an OLED display (compared to an 8.3-inch LCD on the standard model), which we previously dismissed as early rumors about the iPad mini 8. But do we really need multiple iPad mini models?
There’s a reason we’ve been wondering whether the iPad mini can survive. With full-size iPhones, the iPad 10.9 (2022), and the 11- and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro already making their way, most use cases are covered. Still, a mid-size, mid-priced tablet around eight inches could be the ideal choice for users who want a decent tablet for gaming, streaming, and reading, while still being able to hold it in one hand.
October’s announcements – possibly including a new line of Macs and new iPads – are something to look forward to, but before then, there’s still a big event taking place today at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (or 3am AEST on September 10) that will unveil Apple’s latest flagship phones and wearables. As ever, we’ll have staff on-site to cover the event, and you’ll be able to follow along on our live blog to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
