Apple Reportedly Looking to Launch ‘iPad Mini’ Priced at $249-$299 in Q3

Kotaku reports on claims [Google translation] from Chinese web portal NetEase regarding Apple's plans for the launch of a smaller "iPad mini" in the third quarter of this year. According to the report, Apple is planning to launch with six million units of the device at a price of either $249 or $299 in order to combat forthcoming Windows 8 products, although smaller Android tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire have also been viewed as targets for Apple.

NetEase claimed that the device will be released around the third quarter of this year to "counter attack" the upcoming Windows tablets. The report further claims that the devices will cost anywhere from US$249 to $299 and that there will be an initial 6 million units ready for launch.

The well-connected John Gruber has claimed that Apple has a 7.85-inch iPad in its labs, but he does not know whether the product will ever make it to market. Various claims of Apple moving closer to production of the smaller iPad have also been surfacing as rumors continue to swirl.

iPad Mini comparison t
Mockup of 7.85-inch "iPad mini" next to iPad 2 (courtesy of CiccareseDesign)

Last December, we posted a paper mockup showing what a 7.85-inch iPad would look and feel like, coming to the conclusion that onscreen elements would remain usable even as the standard iPad resolution of 1024x768 was squeezed into a 7.85-inch display rather than a 9.7-inch screen. A 7.85-inch "iPad mini" display with a resolution of 1024x768 would carry a pixel density of 163 pixels per inch, exactly the same density as the non-Retina iPhone and iPod touch models. Consequently, content meeting Apple's interface guidelines would display at acceptable sizes on such a display.

Related Roundup: iPad mini
Tag: NetEase
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
iOS App Store General Feature JoeBlue

Epic Games Wins Major Victory as Apple is Ordered to Comply With App Store Anti-Steering Injunction [Updated]

Wednesday April 30, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
In a victory for Epic Games, Apple was today found to be in violation of a 2021 injunction that required it to allow developers to direct customers to third-party purchase options on the web using in-app links. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who has been handling the Apple vs. Epic Games dispute for the last five years, said that Apple is in "willful violation" of the injunction she issued to ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

iPhone 18 to Use High Performance Six-Channel Memory, Claims Leaker

Tuesday April 29, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 lineup will introduce a major leap in memory performance, according to new information shared today by Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. Apple is reportedly planning to equip the 2026 models with a high-capacity six-channel LPDDR5X memory configuration, significantly upping the memory bandwidth for future AI features and multitasking. Expanding the memory bandwidth...

Top Rated Comments

macduke Avatar
170 months ago
Honestly, I wouldn't mind a 12" iPad Pro with quad-core processor, 2GB ram, 128GB of storage, 802.11ac WIFI, and pressure sensitivity for creating artwork. But will it happen? I can dream.

I'm going to give my idea to DigiTimes and tell them I'm an analyst. Expect a post in about 45 minutes.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FSMBP Avatar
170 months ago
Wouldn't that be a little disrespectful to Steve Jobs?
He said he didn't like 7 inch tablets... (Didnt he? Or am I imagining it? :s)
Steve also said 3rd Party Apps are not needed for the iPhone (then, in 2008 they introduced the App Store). Also, he said no one would want to watch video on an iPod (then, they introduced the video iPod a year later).

And "disrespectful"? This is a business - if Apple sees a good enough market for a 7.5" cheaper tablet, why wouldn't it take it? Apple has high standards & only release products that meet those standards - it's like not they're Toshiba and release products willy-nilly hoping they will work.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marbles1 Avatar
170 months ago
Price

Not useful for me, but if it occupies a pricing sweet spot, then it should pick up a good few buyers, especially the 'Dad I want an Ipad' legion of kids.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bawbac Avatar
170 months ago
Smaller? What a rubbish idea, could go a 12" iPad though.

Progression...

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
170 months ago
I think this could really work well for Apple.

Releasing a 7" iPad for $249 would completely mop the floor with anything Google or Amazon did. The Kindle Fire is nice for $200, but in terms of software responsiveness it is on par with iPad 1. I think the Mini iPad would essentially have iPad 2 hardware in a smaller form factor.

The main pros for this new iPad would be:
- Smaller (slightly more portable, women could carry it in pocketbooks, might fit in mens coat pockets)
- Cheaper (this is the biggest point. It would introduce a ton of people into Apple's ecosystem)
- Lighter (Better for tasks like reading and such.)

The primary drawback would be the smaller on screen keyboard which would be much less useful in landscape, although thumb typing should be faster. But I assume they would also include a mic to push Siri into more peoples hands when they update it in iOS 6.

And to those speaking of fragmentation, it has already been covered in an article. Apple could keep this tablet at 1024x768, which would make the screen 163PPI, or that same as non-retina iPhones. Which means that touchscreen buttons would be sized like they are on the iPhone (in terms of physical size, they are all the same pixel size).

iPad apps would look exactly the same, only slightly smaller. iPhone apps would display the same as they do on the current iPad.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ECUpirate44 Avatar
170 months ago
Haven't believed this rumor since it first came out.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)