Bloomberg: Apple Watch Series 4 Models Compatible With Existing Bands, No New iPad Mini This Year

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Debby Wu today previewed details about Apple's widely rumored trio of 2018 iPhones. Towards the end of the report, there are also a few details about the Apple Watch and iPad that we've highlighted below.

apple watch ipad mini
The first noteworthy tidbit is that Apple Watch Series 4 models will be compatible with existing bands, as they are said to have a similar physical size as Series 3 models and earlier. Gurman already said as much earlier this year, but there were some lingering concerns from MacRumors readers in our discussion forums.

Apple Watch Series 4 models are still expected to have up to 15 percent larger displays, as a result of slimmer bezels around the screen. They're also expected to have slightly longer battery life, along with new health and fitness features.

The second tidbit worth singling out is that the iPad mini won't be updated this year, according to Gurman. That information corroborates DigiTimes, which recently reported that "Apple so far has no further plan for the iPad mini series," which hasn't been refreshed since the iPad mini 4 launched in September 2015.

Apple's focus on the lower-cost 9.7-inch iPad may result in the iPad mini line being discontinued eventually, although Gurman hasn't specified.

We're likely just a few weeks away from Apple's usual September event at Steve Jobs Theater, with invites to the media likely to be issued this week. In addition to the new iPhones and Apple Watch Series 4 models, Apple is expected to unveil two new iPad Pros with Face ID, new AirPods, and AirPower pricing and availability.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 10, iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple Expected to Announce Powerbeats Pro 2 on February 11 With These New Features

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11. Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said. Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
applecare apple care banner

AppleCare+ Policy Change Coming to Apple Stores

Sunday February 2, 2025 8:34 am PST by
Starting next week, Apple's retail stores will no longer offer AppleCare+ plans as a one-time purchase, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Instead, he said the stores will only offer AppleCare+ as a subscription. For example, AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no longer be available at Apple's stores....
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple May Launch New iCloud Invite Tool Codenamed 'Confetti' This Week

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:42 am PST by
As early as this week, Apple plans to introduce a new iCloud-based service for event invites, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said the new service is codenamed "Confetti" within Apple. He said the service will offer users a "new way to invite people to parties, functions, and meetings." He did not say if this functionality would be available through a ...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching This Year With These 8 New Features

Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
iCloud General Feature Redux

'Apple Invites' Leaked on iCloud Website

Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced. The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company. The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...

Top Rated Comments

TimUSCA Avatar
84 months ago
iPad mini: makes sense. With the new larger plus iPhone, can’t see much of a need.
Don't underestimate the number of children who use an iPad. And when it comes to parents footing the bill, the cheaper the better. There's a huge market for children that use iOS but certainly don't need an iPhone.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
84 months ago
No. The plus sized phones and the mini are completely different sizes. They do not compare at all. I have both and love the mini. Mine is old and I don’t want a full sized iPad.
Especially true now that the Plus aspect ratio is 19.5:9, which makes it all but unusable for most mini use cases. iPad mini is almost twice as large as the soon to be released X Plus:



Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
piker944 Avatar
84 months ago
Whew! Ordering the 4 to replace my original Apple Watch and definitely wasn't wanting to purchase all new bands.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
84 months ago
The iPad Mini either does not sell well (and Apple believes would not sell any better with a spec bump) or it sells well enough as-is that spec-bumping it would likely not boost sales significantly and would erode margins (if kept at the same price). So it will continue to limp along as-is.
The mini was the best selling ipad while Apple kept up with updates. Their response to those sales numbers was to not update it further, and year after year, let sales diminish. Eventually they'll be able to point to low sales as reason to discontinue it, but it's entirely a choice they've made regardless of sales. Instead of updating it, or adding Pencil support, they've created several new larger, cheaper ipads and pushed those instead, entirely missing the appeal and utility of the Mini, like everyone else in this thread who thinks a plus sized iPhone is an equivalent device. It is not.

It's somewhat obvious they never looked into how people use minis, and mistakenly regarded the model as the budget ipad, then sought to make more profitable replacements for it that were all-around cheaper to build than a full featured iPad squeezed into the more convenient 7.9" frame. Add it to the Macbook Air, the Macbook Pro 17", the Air Ex/TC, Cinema Display line, etc. The most useful & popular devices Apple built, all on the fire.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mollyc Avatar
84 months ago
With the bigger iPhone size, iPad m

Expected news. Current size iPhone is an iPad mini with the same exact iOS [emoji23]
No. The plus sized phones and the mini are completely different sizes. They do not compare at all. I have both and love the mini. Mine is old and I don’t want a full sized iPad.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gotluck Avatar
84 months ago
they dont want to update the mini because it cannibalizes the plus

unfortunate because i vastly prefer non plus phone + mini combo
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)