A new iPad mini is in the works for late 2023 or early 2024, says Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The "main selling point" of the upcoming iPad mini upgrade will be a new processor, Kuo says in a series of tweets. Shipments are expected to start “by the end of 2023” or in the first half of 2024. Apple could put its M1 or M2 chip into the iPad mini, PhoneArena reports.

Kuo also shot down previous media speculation(Opens in a new window) that Apple is set to replace the iPad mini with a foldable iPad in 2025. The industry insider says it's unlikely because of the “markedly higher price” a foldable iPad will have in comparison to an iPad mini. Kuo didn’t spell out how much a foldable iPad would cost, but according to Gizchina, it would be more than double the size of an iPad mini, at more than 20 inches when unfolded.

The current iPad mini, which was released in September 2021, starts at $449 for a 64GB model, while a 256GB model starts at $599. The iPad mini features an 8.3-inch display, A15 Bionic chip, USB-C port, Touch ID power button, and 5G support on cellular models.

Kuo’s analysis is harder to swat down when you look at how the iPad mini has been selling since its release: It was the world’s second-best-selling tabletin the first quarter of 2022, coming just behind the ninth-generation iPad.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Apple analyst said the company is set to cancel or at least postpone production of the next-gen iPhone SE. Kuo says he believes the company will delay or kill the iPhone SE 4 owing to “consistently lower-than-expected shipments” of its mid-tier and lower-end smartphones like the iPhone SE 3, the iPhone 13 mini, and the iPhone 14 Plus. He also pointed to the higher cost of producing the iPhone SE 4’s planned full-screen design.

By: DocMemory
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