New Apple iPad Pro Mini To Be Unveiled in March 2017; Comes With New Design, Water and Dust Resistance Plus New A9 Chip?

Call it the iPad Mini 5, iPad Pro Mini or simply Apple's upcoming mini slab, but we're eagerly waiting for Cupertino's next move. September won't be the lucky month, though: the so called "Apple Special Event" last September 7 saw no new iPad Mini, although it did unveil the iPhone 7, the AirPods and the Apple Watch Series 2. But for those with a keen sense of anything and everything Apple, 2017 is their best bet.

Macworld UK sees that Apple's new iPad Mini will be released in March 2017. According to them, they found no "further leaks or any information suggesting a 2016 release". This is despite the fact that Apple was able to release a previous version of the iPad Mini in October and November, as well as the "mildly surprising" arrival of the iPad Mini 4 in September of last year. This year, Apple's March saw the release of the iPhone SE, a 9.7inch iPad Air Pro, the new iOS 9.3 and straps for the Apple Watch. All these were considered by Macworld UK, along with a slew of rumors, to point March of next year as the birth month of the iPad Mini 5. They also said that it will be named iPad Pro Mini "as it would follow the iPad Pro line-up."

As far as design is concerned, Apple is theorized to tear up the iPad Mini's "old design manuals and starting from scratch." Some say that the iPad Pro Mini and the new iPad Air 3 will be thinner at around 5mm. They could also sport a 7000-series aluminum like the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to give it more girth to withstand pressure considering that Apple is eyeing on making it slimmer. There's also word that it will come with a Smart Connector, as seen in the 9.7inch and 12.9 inch iPad Pro. This feature, Macworld UK added will connect to a keyboard case "when held in portrait orientation."

Likewise, they believe that the Apple iPad Pro Mini will probably host a "3D Touch pressure sensitive screen" which the company gave the iPhone. This, however, is still in question since Apple "isn't ready to make the move to the iPad line." Cult of Mac also stated in a separate article that the next generation of iPads could be waterproof and dust-resistant, alongside a "new, smaller battery" than that of its predecessor.

On the inside, tech predictors eye on a possible A9 chip, "speed bump and improved graphics", plus a more spacious 32GB, 64GB and 128GB version of the iPad Pro Mini. The only mainstay is the camera, which they say will sit still at 8megapixels at the back and 1.2megapixels up front. Still, users want to have better quality images, especially now that they're using FaceTime a lot.

Price wise, Macworld UK targets the Apple iPad Pro Mini to sell somewhere £349 to compensate a bigger storage space. This has yet to be confirmed but sensing that the iPad Mini 4's 64GB came in at £399, it's just about right to hang the price tag to a sub £400. Additionally, with the iPhone 7 setting the trend of ditching the headphone jack, the new iPad might just do the same. This, on the other hand, will spell its previous claim that it would be thinner. To allocate this would mean fast charging ala Qualcomm's Quick Charge.

How about a pink version of the Apple iPad Pro Mini? Or Jet Black variant like the iPhone 7? Whatever your options and wishes might be, Apple is sure to make the new iPad Mini a thing of beauty. But who knows? Maybe Apple will indeed give it a powerful A9 chip and thus making it a beauty and a beast at the same time.