Instapaper developer Marco Arment has spotted two new iPad device codes in his logs that he believes represents the long rumored "iPad mini".
The new identifiers found were "iPad2,5" and "iPad2,6". As Arment notes, the iPad2,1 through iPad 2,3 designations are known to represent the iPad 2's WiFi, GSM and CDMA models. The iPad2,4 represents a die-shrunk/cheaper version of the iPad 2 that was released alongside the 3rd generation iPad. Finally, the 3rd Generation iPad carries a designation of iPad3,x.
As for "iPad2,5" and "iPad2,6", they have not been seen before, but Arment concludes they are likely to be the long rumored 'iPad mini' which is based on iPad 2 hardware.
The much more likely explanation is that iPad2,5 and iPad2,6 are the new “iPad Mini” in Wi-Fi and GSM, and I haven’t recorded the likely iPad2,7 CDMA version yet.
If so, this suggests that the iPad Mini is, effectively, an iPad 2: an A5 with 512 MB of RAM and enough GPU power to drive the Gruber Display, but not a Retina Display.
It’s a textbook Tim Cook supply-chain move: selling the last generation’s hardware at a lower price point to expand marketshare.
By "Gruber Display", Arment refers to John Gruber's speculation that a iPad Mini made sense as a 7.85" display that shares the same resolution as the original iPad (1024x768). Arment goes into a little further depth in his blog post about his speculation on the internals of the iPad mini.
Apple is believed to be launching a smaller 7.85" iPad in the coming months. Rumors have suggested we'll see it launched as early as October.
Friday January 9, 2026 8:17 am PST by Tim Hardwick
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
...
Thursday January 8, 2026 2:56 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Monday January 12, 2026 7:38 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with CNBC today, Apple confirmed that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri that is slated to launch later this year.
"After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we're excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users," the statement...
Monday January 12, 2026 1:15 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 26.3, nearly a month after the first beta. So far, the update includes a couple of new features for iPhones.
iOS 15.3 through iOS 18.3 were all released in late January over the years, so it is thereby likely that iOS 26.3 will be released towards the end of this month as well. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.
Below,...
Monday January 12, 2026 11:38 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Elon Musk today expressed concern about Apple and Google partnering on a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google's generative AI platform Gemini.
"This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that [they] also have Android and Chrome," wrote Musk, in a post on X.
Musk serves as CEO of xAI, the company behind Gemini competitor Grok.
It is unlikely...
Monday January 12, 2026 8:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple and Google today announced that Google Gemini will help power not only a more personalized version of Siri, but a range of future Apple Intelligence features.
"Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology," the companies said, in a statement. "These...
Monday January 12, 2026 8:19 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 26.3 will likely be released to the public later this month, but it appears that Apple is preparing to push out another software update in the interim.
Apple's software engineers have started testing iOS 26.2.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The update will likely be released at some point this week or next week.
...
Friday January 9, 2026 4:24 am PST by Tim Hardwick
The Unicode Consortium has published a draft list of emoji that could come to smartphones and other devices in the future. The list shared by Emojipedia outlines 19 emoji candidates under consideration for Emoji 18.0, which is expected to be finalized in September 2026.
Among the proposed additions are a squinting face emoji, left- and right-pointing thumb gestures, a pickle, a lighthouse, a ...
But i frown upon 1024x768 because clearly you can see apple NOT pushing technology forward but going backwards. You want mass acceptance of 1024x768???
Technology isnt just spec numbers on a list. Technology is what you can DO with something. So many companies are circling the drain because they dont understand that.
The only way this will be popular enough is if the price point is $199. Please don't add $129 for LTE it's just apple's price gouging. I think $199 with LTE will just flatten the entire tablet market and apple will increase their domination.
WhenI mentioned this to be another 'garbage ipad' - i meant it figuratively because it does not bring anything innovative to the table. The iPad 2 is no weak sauce at all. Performance wise, it's still extremely solid performer. I just think if they can do $200 or lower with LTE, you are talking about crazy sales. I'd pick one up just for kicks because I can take it around much easier than my existing iPad 3.
But i frown upon 1024x768 because clearly you can see apple NOT pushing technology forward but going backwards. You want mass acceptance of 1024x768???
You want a 7.85" iPad with a higher than 1024x768 resolution, so retina screen and you want LTE, all for $199?!?!??
Apple has become the walmart of smartphones, tablets, and now mini-tablets.
I do not understand the appeal of a 1024x768 resolution tablet. Even at 7.85", it's merely 1.85" smaller than the iPad and if you look at the nexus 7, it has higher resolution than this ipad.
Unless they do something with the pixel density to make it look magical, it's just another garbage ipad. I like the the size but I do not like how apple recycles their components like this. There is nothing innovative at all.
Judging from the leaks on the iphone 2012, apple is on a downward trend of producing crap! I'm sorry but it seems after SJ has departed, apple is now run by bean counters in suits. I'm not surprised if jony ives decides to retire.
Apple has become the walmart of smartphones, tablets, and now mini-tablets.
I do not understand the appeal of a 1024x768 resolution tablet. Even at 7.85", it's merely 1.85" smaller than the iPad and if you look at the nexus 7, it has higher resolution than this ipad.
Unless they do something with the pixel density to make it look magical, it's just another garbage ipad. I like the the size but I do not like how apple recycles their components like this. There is nothing innovative at all.
Judging from the leaks on the iphone 2012, apple is on a downward trend of producing crap! I'm sorry but it seems after SJ has departed, apple is now run by bean counters in suits. I'm not surprised if jony ives decides to retire.
A lower-end model (cheaper, more portable, but otherwise the same as the outstanding iPad 2) is not a “downward trend.” It’s just a lower-end model. To see a trend you’d have to see Apple also eliminate the high-end iPad 3. You’d also have to use this new iPad before you judged it on rumor alone.
1024x768 may be the best solution for this unit. If so, a retina display will come in time, as prices for it fall. (You don’t see any other 8” 2048x1536 devices out there either.)
And the Nexus does have higher DPI—a side effect of having a much smaller screen than an 8” iPad would have! And yet an iPad mini might (we’ll see) fit that big(-ish) screen into a unit not much larger than a Nexus. The Nexus would be all the bulk but none of the screen size or app selection.
I have a question about this iPad mini. Will developers have to re make applications to fit the new screen size or will iOS automatically scale them down to fit on the screen?
scale what down? it's 1024x768 it runs all the ipad apps natively.
