Having gone through an unprecedented drouth of new models in 2023 , the iPad has already gained Modern versions of the Air and Pro in 2024 ( and seen a correspondingbump in sales ) . And it looks like there ’s more where that come from .
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman , a tech initiate and leaker with a considerable pursual and becoming prognostic track book , arrogate in a post Monday on X ( formerly Twitter ) that many Apple stores are currently experiencing stock shortages for the current iPad mini “ in several configs . ” Given the famously effective nature of Apple ’s logistics operation , such a widespread partitioning in supplying – affecting multiple versions of a gadget at multiple location – is often a sign that the company is deliberately lift down yield ahead of the launching of a new model .
Many Apple store are scummy on stock of the iPad miniskirt in several configs , while the gimmick is considered “ constrained ” internally within Apple , I ’m tell . That * could * be a sign a new one is coming . It has n’t been updated since 2021 . Would n’t be surprised to see it updated for AI .
Not before time , too . As Gurman points out , the iPad mini has n’t been update since 2021 , and we ’re coming up tight on the equipment ’s third birthday , which is rather alarming . There was a sentence ( across the first four generations of the intersection ) when the miniskirt got an update every fall like the iPhone , but even by later standards we ’re due for it to be either freshen or discontinue .
To be sightly a three - year separation between launches is not unprecedented . There was a delay of three and a one-half years between the fourth- and fifth - gen model . But then too a lot of us wondered if Apple had give up on the estimate . But a haphazard iPad mini rising slope cycle is somewhat par for the row :
The long gap since the gadget last beget an update reach the mini a deeply unlikable leverage right now . It still runs an A - stratum processor whereas even the iPad Air ( which at one time was in many respects a larger equivalent of the mini ) is two generations into M - class Mac chips . Unlike the other iPads , the miniskirt still has its front - facing camera on the forgetful edge as well , which I described late as a13 - yr - old design error .
Gurman says he would n’t be surprised if the iPad mini stimulate an update to make it compatible with Apple Intelligence , which means an raise from 4 GB to 8 GB of random access memory as well , but to be honest that ’s the least of its worry . Notably , the iPad mini does n’t support the newest Apple Pencil Pro or any version of the Magic Keyboard and begin at a rickety 64 GB of store .
To keep up with all the in vogue intelligence and hearsay about the new machine , check out our on a regular basis updatediPad mini 7 superguide .