Despite KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s usually excellent track record on Apple predictions, he messed up his last prediction that the iPad Air 2 would make its appearance at Apple’s iPhone 6 launch event two weeks ago.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. But if you’re eager for an iPad Air boasting an A8 chip, a new report corroborates a rumor we’ve heard before: it’s coming in October. Don’t wait for an A8 iPad mini though: it’s at least three months away.
According to a report from Chinese-language site Commercial Times citing sources in Apple’s Chinese supply chain, the iPad Air 2 will debut next month, roughly a year after the iPad Air debuted.
That’s almost a no-brainer, given the iPad’s annual release cycle. But more intriguingly, Commercial Times claims the next iPad mini with Retina Display won’t debut until the first quarter of next year.
That would be an unusual move, to say the least. But I think it makes sense. With the release of the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple already has what is, in effect, a small tablet boasting an A8 chip on the market. Meanwhile, iPad mini sales have cannibalized iPad Air sales. It makes sense that Apple would want to do something to differentiate the iPhone 6 Plus from the iPad mini from the iPad Air, and releasing the iPad mini six months later is one clear way to do that.
Other than that, details are slim, although we’ve heard in the past that Apple could release a 4K iPad Pro this October. I wouldn’t hold your breath though.
Source: Commercial Times
Via: Mac Observer
