Instapaper developer Marco Arment has spotted two new iPad device codes in his logs that he believes represents the long rumored "iPad mini".
The new identifiers found were "iPad2,5" and "iPad2,6". As Arment notes, the iPad2,1 through iPad 2,3 designations are known to represent the iPad 2's WiFi, GSM and CDMA models. The iPad2,4 represents a die-shrunk/cheaper version of the iPad 2 that was released alongside the 3rd generation iPad. Finally, the 3rd Generation iPad carries a designation of iPad3,x.
As for "iPad2,5" and "iPad2,6", they have not been seen before, but Arment concludes they are likely to be the long rumored 'iPad mini' which is based on iPad 2 hardware.
The much more likely explanation is that iPad2,5 and iPad2,6 are the new “iPad Mini” in Wi-Fi and GSM, and I haven’t recorded the likely iPad2,7 CDMA version yet.
If so, this suggests that the iPad Mini is, effectively, an iPad 2: an A5 with 512 MB of RAM and enough GPU power to drive the Gruber Display, but not a Retina Display.
It’s a textbook Tim Cook supply-chain move: selling the last generation’s hardware at a lower price point to expand marketshare.
By "Gruber Display", Arment refers to John Gruber's speculation that a iPad Mini made sense as a 7.85" display that shares the same resolution as the original iPad (1024x768). Arment goes into a little further depth in his blog post about his speculation on the internals of the iPad mini.
Apple is believed to be launching a smaller 7.85" iPad in the coming months. Rumors have suggested we'll see it launched as early as October.
Monday December 16, 2024 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2.
iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update.
There's no word yet on what's included in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, ...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered.
Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far.
Robot Vacuum Support in Home App
First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
But i frown upon 1024x768 because clearly you can see apple NOT pushing technology forward but going backwards. You want mass acceptance of 1024x768???
Technology isnt just spec numbers on a list. Technology is what you can DO with something. So many companies are circling the drain because they dont understand that.
The only way this will be popular enough is if the price point is $199. Please don't add $129 for LTE it's just apple's price gouging. I think $199 with LTE will just flatten the entire tablet market and apple will increase their domination.
WhenI mentioned this to be another 'garbage ipad' - i meant it figuratively because it does not bring anything innovative to the table. The iPad 2 is no weak sauce at all. Performance wise, it's still extremely solid performer. I just think if they can do $200 or lower with LTE, you are talking about crazy sales. I'd pick one up just for kicks because I can take it around much easier than my existing iPad 3.
But i frown upon 1024x768 because clearly you can see apple NOT pushing technology forward but going backwards. You want mass acceptance of 1024x768???
You want a 7.85" iPad with a higher than 1024x768 resolution, so retina screen and you want LTE, all for $199?!?!??
Apple has become the walmart of smartphones, tablets, and now mini-tablets.
I do not understand the appeal of a 1024x768 resolution tablet. Even at 7.85", it's merely 1.85" smaller than the iPad and if you look at the nexus 7, it has higher resolution than this ipad.
Unless they do something with the pixel density to make it look magical, it's just another garbage ipad. I like the the size but I do not like how apple recycles their components like this. There is nothing innovative at all.
Judging from the leaks on the iphone 2012, apple is on a downward trend of producing crap! I'm sorry but it seems after SJ has departed, apple is now run by bean counters in suits. I'm not surprised if jony ives decides to retire.
Apple has become the walmart of smartphones, tablets, and now mini-tablets.
I do not understand the appeal of a 1024x768 resolution tablet. Even at 7.85", it's merely 1.85" smaller than the iPad and if you look at the nexus 7, it has higher resolution than this ipad.
Unless they do something with the pixel density to make it look magical, it's just another garbage ipad. I like the the size but I do not like how apple recycles their components like this. There is nothing innovative at all.
Judging from the leaks on the iphone 2012, apple is on a downward trend of producing crap! I'm sorry but it seems after SJ has departed, apple is now run by bean counters in suits. I'm not surprised if jony ives decides to retire.
A lower-end model (cheaper, more portable, but otherwise the same as the outstanding iPad 2) is not a “downward trend.” It’s just a lower-end model. To see a trend you’d have to see Apple also eliminate the high-end iPad 3. You’d also have to use this new iPad before you judged it on rumor alone.
1024x768 may be the best solution for this unit. If so, a retina display will come in time, as prices for it fall. (You don’t see any other 8” 2048x1536 devices out there either.)
And the Nexus does have higher DPI—a side effect of having a much smaller screen than an 8” iPad would have! And yet an iPad mini might (we’ll see) fit that big(-ish) screen into a unit not much larger than a Nexus. The Nexus would be all the bulk but none of the screen size or app selection.
I have a question about this iPad mini. Will developers have to re make applications to fit the new screen size or will iOS automatically scale them down to fit on the screen?
scale what down? it's 1024x768 it runs all the ipad apps natively.
