For the last couple of years, the Apple’s iPad mini line has been launched either in October or November and it does not normally come with the iPhone lines of the American tech giant.
The Cupertino-based tech giant normally launches its latest iPhone lines in September. However, for the upcoming “One More Thing” event of Apple on September 9, it seems that the company would be changing its launching pattern for its iPad and iPad mini lines.
Reports now have it that the rumored 12-inch iPad Pro and the iPad mini 4 will be launched by Apple along with its latest iPhones, which according to speculations could be the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 6S Plus, and the iPhone 6C.
Assuming that Apple goes ahead with its plan of launching the iPad mini 4 on September 9, it means that the iPad mini 3 has yet to complete its one-year market cycle by the time its successor is unveiled to the market.
It may not be logical from a business standpoint but since the iPad mini 3 did not make a market impact the way it was expected to be, then Apple has all the right reasons to bring about its successor. The idea is for the company to redeem itself from the less-than-satisfactory sales result of the iPad mini 3 after it was launched in October last year.
Major discount
It seems that the speculations that the Apple iPad mini 4 will be launched in the next few days are getting more validation especially with recent reports coming out that some major retailers are now offering major discounts on the iPad mini 3.
According to Mac Rumors, as part of Labor Day offer to consumers Apple will be giving great discounts on its wide range of products including the iPad mini 3, the iPad Air 2, the MacBook Air and the Retina MacBook Pro.
Retail giant Best Buy is said to be offering solid discounts on the iPad mini 3 by up to $100. Apparently, the 16GB WiFi iPad mini 3 is now being offered for $299.99 while its 128GB model is now available for $499.99.
The iPad Air 2 and the iPad Air are also getting discounts of up to $100, validating rumors or notions that the iPad Pro is indeed about to be roll out in the next few days.
Based on recent reports, Apple will not be launching any update to the iPad Air 2 because it has made significant improvements over the iPad Air that it would not be able to incorporate much greater features on the iPad Air 3 should it pursued the project this year.
Gearing for the competition
Having known that Apple would be launching its iPad Pro on September 9, Samsung has hinted that is also now busy working on its own version of a tablet and laptop hybrid, which it plans to call as the Galaxy View, notes the Ecumenical News.
This is different from previous reports which said that the Korean tech giant will be calling the giant tablet that it plans to level against the upcoming iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 as the Galaxy Tab S Pro, consistent with the name of its flagship tablet lines.
Samsung already has a match for the iPad Air 2 and the upcoming iPad mini 4 with its Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 launched last month that comes in a 9.7-inch variant and an 8-inch model.
The iPad mini 4 will reportedly have a better chipset than its predecessor but it will only offer minimal upgrades compared to its predecessor, the iPad mini 3, which somehow countered previous reports that the mini-tablet will essentially be a small version of the iPad Air 2.
Apple has already announced its “One More Thing” event for September 9, but it has yet to make any other details on what devices it is planning to launch during the occasion.
Reports indicate that the iPad mini 4 will feature a split-screen view, some multi-tasking features, and will possibly run on iOS 9.