Almost every time Apple announced a launch event in 2023 it was met with rumours and cries for a new iPad mini, but to no avail.
The company launched plenty of new products throughout the year, but the iPad mini 7 was not one of them. We've now not had a refresh of the smaller tablet in over two years.
The 6th generation iPad mini is still the current model and is looking (ironically) long-in-the-tooth in comparison with its family members. There might even be some wondering if we'll ever get a new model.
Well, thankfully Apple expert and Bloomberg journalist, Mark Gurman, suggests that it is still on the cards. But, he also sends a warning for those eagerly-awaiting its arrival – other new iPad models are expected to launch first.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman suggests that new iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets will be unveiled in March, but the next iPad mini will be refreshed "later".
It might not be as much a generational leap as the Pro models should be, with just a "faster processor" currently being mentioned.
We might find it also gains compatibility with more recent Apple Pencil models though, as the newsletter also reveals that Apple plans to "slowly phase out some of its older Pencils".
This, says Gurman, is part of a wider scheme to clean up the overall iPad family offering, which has become cluttered over time.
As part of this, there will be a bigger differentiation between the iPad Pro and iPad Air models, with the Pro devices gaining OLED displays and more powerful processing in the form of Apple's M3 silicon.
They will also be fractionally larger (in screen size), at 11- and 13-inches, in comparison with 10.9- and 12.9-inch Air equivalents.
There will also be an 11th generation standard iPad launched next year, with the 9th gen model removed from sale. And that will mark the end of the older design with Touch ID for good.
This will apparently remove the "confusion" around Apple's existing lineup and set the stall for a reinvigoration of the tablet range.
