The speculation train for Apple’s consumer electronics devices has clearly shifted to the iPad Mini, which is expected to be announced sometime this month.
The speculation train for Apple’s consumer electronics devices has clearly shifted to the iPad Mini, which is expected to be announced sometime this month. So far, we’ve seen some leaked components, plenty of mock-ups, and some rumored milestone dates.
Photo credit: Giz-China.com
This time, however, the sometimes-reliable Taiwanese news source DigiTimesreports that the Taiwanese display manufacturer AU Optronics has been tapped by Apple to build the 7.85-inch screens for the cut-size iPad.
This adds to an earlier rumor tagging AU Optronics for this role. A separate report last August suggested that LG Display would also be tasked to make these screens, but it isn’t possible to confirm these rumors at the moment.
The 7.85-inch screen size was first brought up, since it would allow component manufacturers to use the same density display panels as the iPhone 3GS, and merely scale them up to fit the 1024 x 768 pixel resolution as the first two generations of full-size iPad.
Nothing is actually known about the other specifications of the rumored iPad Mini, but component leaks indicate that it would adopt slightly narrower proportions compared to the full-size iPad and use a nano-SIM card as well as the new Lightning dock connector.
According to the latest reports, the Cupertino, CA company could start sending out invitations for an October 17 event this week ahead of a late October or early November release of its new device. The company has been expected to have a busy holiday 2012 season, and while it has already unveiled the new iPhone and iPod models, the rumored iPad Mini, a slightly tweaked third-generation iPad and a slew of new Mac models are still believed to be in the works.