The coming out party for iPad mini 3 will take place on Thursday during the Apple iPad event at its Cupertino headquarters in California.
Leaks have been swirling around the global tech community about the next generation iPad mini with Retina display, noting that these may no longer be rumors but advance information.
The Christian Post reported that Apple would have a keynote event on October 16 where it would likely unveil the iPad mini 3, iPad Air 2, the OS X Yosemite Mac operating system, along with other extras.
Those extras may include the new-high resolution iMac and possibly Apple TV, cites the Business Insider.
Apple launched its second generation iPad mini with Retina display in October 2013 so it is rather fitting that iPad mini 3 would also be unveiled one year after its predecessor, notes The Christian Post.
Specifications and Release Date
The iPad mini 3 will likely retain its 7.9-inch display and its 2048 x 1536 resolution. It will also have four storage options, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB, similar to iPad mini 2, details The Christian Post.
The new line of iPads will most likely feature Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which the company first introduced with its iPhone 5S, cites the Business Insider.
Macworld says that it has been the tradition of Apple to make its product available in the market seven to 10 days after its official announcement. So if the iPad mini 3 is officially unveiled on October 16, it is likely that the product will hit the retail market starting on October 24, it pointed out.
Top 5 Rumors for iPad mini 3
Until Apple confirms these leaks on October 16, these remain the hottest rumors about the device:
1. It may not be named as iPad mini 3
Macworld believes that the third generation iPad mini would not be called iPad mini 3. After all, the second generation iPad mini was not officially named iPad mini 2 but iPad mini with Retina display. "We're thinking New iPad mini is likely," it predicted.
The Christian Post report even seconded Macword's notion when it said: "As far as naming (the new iPad mini) goes, Apple could be naming it anything."
2. It will be 30% thinner than the iPad mini 2
There have been rumors that the iPad mini 3 will be called iPad Mini Air because its leaked design profile are said to be 30% thinner than its predecessor, notes The Christian Post.
3. It will have an improved camera
While iPad mini 2 featured a 5-megapixel rear-facing iSight camera and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, the iPad mini 3 would have an 8-megapixel rear-facing iSight camera, reports Macworld. No report yet on its front-facing camera capability.
4. It would feature a new processor
iPad mini 3 would be sporting the A8 processor, reports the Business Insider, and it would run on Apple's latest iOS 8 operating system.
5. Price will be similar to iPad mini 2
Macworld thinks that Apple would price its iPad mini 3 similar to its iPad mini 2. Price of the device could go anywhere from $512.7 to $898.5 with Wifi and from $673.5 to $1,059 with cellular, depending largely on its memory storage capacities.